Of Ink and Turf Wars
by TheAutumSage
Summary: An Introverted inkling new to inkopolis goes from local zero to creating one of the best Turf War squads known to squid! he couldn't do without the help of the lovely Annie (and Moe Losers) at his side. Can he accomplish anything or get splatted trying?
1. Arrival of Love

Splatoon belongs to Nintendo I own nothing but the Oc's

Chapter 1: Arrival of love

"Well here I am, I finally made it to Inkopolis" I say to myself as I get off the bus with all my things packed in my black and orange duffle bag, "so this is Inkopolis huh? It's just as the magazine described it: big and bustling. I wonder if I'll join a squad and participate in raging Turf Wars!" I say to myself nearly shouting which causes some people to glance in my direction, I begin to blush as I weave my way through the crowd as the giant television on top of the yellow tower in the center of town sparks to life as two squid girls appear on screen

"Hello I'm Callie!" Says the pink one, "and I'm Marie!" Says the green one, "News flash!" Yells Callie throwing her hands in the air which catches the attention of Marie, "what is it Callie?", replies Marie as she gives Callie a questioning gaze, "Our archeology team has done it again! They discovered an ancient fossil of a 'human' in which it displays its primitive fashion sense!" Announces Callie while pointing to the outfit the 'human' is wearing, "oh wow! That is a very borin- I mean drab outfit it's definitely not like our fashion which is clearly superior" comments Marie as she changes the topic, "on the other tentacle, recent trends show that Urchin Underpass has been receiving a lot of attention due to battles being held there, we have Judd here today to shed some light on the recent popularity of Urchin Underpass over to you Judd" adds Marie as the camera pans over to Judd who adjusts his bowtie before 'speaking', "Meow meow, meow meow meow meow!" meows

Judd as the camera pans back to Callie and Marie as they begin to speak, "well folks you heard it straight from the cat's mouth the constant territory control and the dynamics of the arena make it the perfect Battle ground that keeps squads on their toes! Well that wraps up the latest news folks we will see you next time... STAY FRESH!" Yells Callie and Marie striking their signature pose as the giant TV fades to black and the hustle and bustle of the city life continues, "wow! Now I'm really pumped for the turf wars! But how is a introverted guy like me supposed to get In a squad that can participate in Turf Wars?" I ask myself while aimlessly walking until I realize that I walked into a clothing store named "Cooler Heads", "ummm how did I end up here?!" I say aloud which prompts the response of a crude clownfish "You walked in here loser!" Yells the clownfish, "well sorry for the intrusion..." I say beginning to turn around and leave the store until a tiny voice begins to speak, "don't worry about Moe, he's always been like this..." Says the voice as she walks from behind a clothes rack, "H-Hello and W-Welcome to Cooler Heads" says the store clerk her Pink and Green hair atop of her beige skin making it seem ever so brighter as my face begins to turn red just looking at her, "yo' buddy someone spray ya' with red ink? HELLO!?" Yells the clownfish taking me out of my gaze as the store clerk giggles a bit, "M-My name is A-A-Annie and what's yours...?" Asks Annie slightly blushing causing me to turn a striking scarlet as I fumble to find the right words to introduce myself, "m-my name is... Ummmmm...my name is...Coral! My name is Coral!" I reply mentally cursing myself for sounding like a complete idiot in Front of her!, pleasure to meet you Coral *giggle*" says Annie extending her hand out, "no please, the pleasure is all mine..." I reply shaking her hand. As our hands touch I look into her pink and green eyes that hide behind her large frame black glasses as she looks into my brown eyes that hide behind my square frame wire glasses, both of our faces turn red as we let go of each other's hand and clear our throats as Moe breaks the tender moment, "FLIRT ALERT! PEOPLE THESE TWO ARE FLIRTING! LOOK AT THEM!" sounds Moe which results in everyone I the immediate vicinity to look in our direction, "well its been a pleasure meeting you Annie and you as well Moe-" "Get lost" "-ahem, it's been a blast, but I must leave I will see you again" I say as I walk out of the store as I pass by I hear murmurs of people talking about me as I walk out the store towards the student apartments to check into my apartment...

Please give me feedback on how this is going so far (I'm new to this)


	2. Side Line Assistance at a Turf War

Chapter 2: Sideline Assistance at a Turf War

As I look for the student apartments I begin to wonder if I am getting lost as I walk in a trance like state as I walk past some squids, "hey buddy you lost or somethin'" asks a red inkling, whom I am assuming is the group leader, "ummm yes I cannot find the student center I'm new here and I have no idea which way I'm supposed to go" I reply while steadily looking down, "well you walked right passed the student it's the large white complex that you just passed" he says while walking in my direction, "also there is a turf war going on right now so if you wanna come with me and my friend s" he says while he and his friends begin to walk in the opposite direction as raging cheers begin roaring from direction, "yeah I would love to join you guys" I say catching up with them. As we approach the arena I notice the large center plaza in the middle of the arena as well as the many hidden secret passageways "this must be Urchin Underpass that Callie and Marie were talking about on the news" I say to myself as the thunderous sounds of cheering fill my ears as some stray cyan paint flies in my face"ugh what the hell man?!" I yell which makes one of the players turn around "oh my bad I didn't see you there" she says as one of the opposing red team members approach from behind, "BEHIND YOU" I yell which makes her turn around and ink the enemy which ends the game as Judd takes center stage, "meow meow meow meow!" meows Judd as he holds up a cyan flag signaling that the cyan team won, "WHAT! That's some bullsquid!" yells the captain of the red team, "I had the jump on her if that little squid didn't say anything! He's not even on their team!" he yells as he climbs over the gate that stood between me and him as he grabs me and pins me to the wall, "listen good I worked real hard to get to the championship and it's not gonna be taken away by some little shit like you" he says grabbing the collar of my jacket as he slams me to the ground knocking the wind out of me as the rest of his team try to get their captain from attacking me any further, "okay get off of me I'm not gonna hit em' anymore , but if I see him again I'm not making any promises" he says storming off into the distance as the cyan team crowd around me asking if I was okay,"yeah I'm fine… well I guess I had it coming to me" I say picking myself up off the ground as I somehow make it to the student apartment complex. I miraculously head straight to my room and sleep the pain away… The very next day I awake with a start nearly falling out of my bed as my alarm clock wails waking up my next door,"yo' what the hell is that sound!" yells a male inkling as another feminine voice begins to speak, "whatever it is baby go back to sleep you don't have any Turf battles today so come back to bed with me~" says the feminine voice as the door opens and closes I become more nervous as the footsteps approach my door, "Hey! Hey buddy! I know you are in there!" He yells as he continues to bang on my door, "I said OPEN. THE. DOOR." he yells as I open my door... Big mistake, "Oh! well look at this shit. can you believe this shit? the same squid that ruined my chance at fame is now my dorm mate" says the red inkling as he steps inside my dorm and into my face while balling his fists, "see didn't I tell you that if I say you again I was gonna beat the living ink outta you!" he says while pinning me to the wall by my shirt, "Murray put him down and leave him alone! you know what will happen if you get into more fights! you will not be able to participate in any more Turf Wars!" Yells the Inkling girl that was in the same room as Murray, "*sigh* in know babe, but he ruined me and my squad's rise to fame my squad may have forgiven him but I didn't! but for you babe I will spare his tentacles this time" he says letting go of my shirt and backing away from me but still glaring at me, "I can't believe how lucky you are the great Blooper in the sky must be your guardian squid, lets go Jenna just looking at him makes me wanna puke" he says taking Jenna with him onlookers go back to their dorm when Murray walks past them, "*sigh*This is too much for a morning" I say to myself as I clean up the mess Murray caused when he pinned me to my wall which by the way hurts a lot, but I've been through worse...but that is a story for another time. As I finish cleaning my room I shower and get dressed for the day My thoughts begin to drift to Annie from "Cooler Heads" my whole body turns a Bright Scarlet from our encounter from yesterday Before Moe ruined it, "I will go to Cooler Heads today to buy something so I can Talk to her! Yup! that's the plan" I say opening my wallet to find 200 coins, "not much... I can barely afford a hat*sigh*" I say to myself as I walk outside of the student complex, "at this rate I will either have to get a job or join or create a squad for Turf Wars!" I say out loud while walking past a cyan inkling girl sitting on a railing, "Hey I'll join your squad!" replied the cyan inkling girl as she jumps from the railing in front of me, "ummmm... do I know you? not to sound rude or anything", I say taking a step back, "I'm the one shot you in the face by accident sorry about that" says the inkling girl, "Its okay it was by accident so water under the valley, also I never got your name by the way" I ask her, "Oh! my name Cyan...like the color...and like my tentacles" says Cyan while caressing her tentacles as we begin to walk and talk about various topics "...so what happened to the squad you were in?"I ask her, "Oh them we disbanded the same night we won that match, we disbanded because we all wanted to do different things", she responds as we walk into Cooler Heads...

Please give me feedback on this chapter


	3. Hot Blushing Action

Chapter 3: Hot Blushing Action

(I'm typing in a new style so if people like these more than the block style then there will be no more chapters being blocks of text and I will type in this style from now on)

Cyan's POV

As Coral and I approach "Cooler Heads" my mind begins to rush as to why Coral is going to Cooler Heads, "He is not in a squad and he is only on level 1 so he cannot buy anything yet…Why am I even worrying for I'm pretty sure he is here for official business… heh heh ehhhh… this does not even involve me it's not like I like him or something with his… Nice…warm brown skin and his striking cyan tentacles are very alluring… but I should keep my distance and not go into Cooler Heads with him",

As I continue to follow Coral to Cooler Heads I begin to think, "maybe I will not accompany him when he goes in maybe I'll go to the sneaker store to see if they have anything new in stock and after that I'll go to the championship Turf War today it's the Inkmen versus Inked Dominion yeah I'll do that"

After coming up with my mental plan I tap Coral's back which makes him jump, "hey Coral", I say placing my hand on his firm bicep, "I'll catch up with you later okay I'm gonna go to somewhere else and after that I'll go to the Championship Turf War okay… you will be there at the Turf War right? it's the Inkmen versus Inked Dominion and it starts at 8:30 at the Kelp Dome I'll be waiting for you at the North gate okay don't keep me waiting", I say letting my hand slide down his arm before beginning to walk away hoping he swims on what I am inking down…hopefully.

"Well I guess I will see you later then cyan… I'll be there at the Turf War I might get there a little late ", he replies as he turns and walks away before giving another glance before disappearing into Cooler Heads…

Coral's POV

As I walk into Cooler Heads I begin to think about Cyan and how she held my arm that way it was almost like she was flirting with me… like that will ever happen, as I walk into Cooler Heads all thoughts vanish as I see the angel in all of her pink and green glory, I finally muster up the 'courage' to talk to Annie, but as I was up to her Moe sounds the alarm,

"Hey it's the scarlet squid Annie! It's the same squid you wouldn't not stop talking about!" Moe says which nearly makes Annie fall from a ladder, "So she has been talking about me…" I begin to ponder the thought of Annie talking to Moe about me causes me to blush a slight pink.

"P-Please ignore Moe H-He does not know what he is talking I was not talking about you why would I talk about you!" stutters Annie which makes me wince and take a step back,

"So you don't like me…? What's wrong with me? Do I smell funny? Did I do something wrong?" I begin to think as a plethora of questioning thoughts rush through my mind as Annie says something that stops me dead in my tracks,

"I mean… I-I was talking about you and I guess Moe overheard me talking about you…", shyly says Annie as she looks down and begins to shuffle her feet that figuratively blows my mind if this was a cartoon there would be smoke billowing out from my head and ears.

I was so glad at this particular moment no one was inside the store or else things would get out of hand, "I am surprised that someone as pretty as you would talk about me in their free time", I say talking a step closer to Annie my whole body now striking red from all the hot blushing action I was doing,

"T-T-Thank you for the compliment Coral, no one has ever told me that before, it's probably because I am ugly" says Annie sheepishly while looking down so that I cannot see her face as she begins to tear up,

"You are not ugly your beautiful I'm surprised that you don't have guys asking you if you have a boyfriend or something" I say while tilting her head up with my hand so that she can look into my eyes,

"you-you think I am beautiful…?" says Annie staring at me with a star struck gaze as her face begins turn hot pink as my words put her in a trance like state, "yes, no one has ever told you that before? Well that's such a shame" I say taking her hand in mine which makes Annie blush turn from a bright pink to a scarlet.

"No. no one has ever told me I was beautiful… you're the first to ever told me that" Annie says before being abruptly cut off by Moe, "HELLO! You guys forgot about me? Apparently so with all this hot blushing action going here is this a store or a high school corridor?" Moe says as he single 'fin' destroyed the moment…

"Well Annie you are the cutest girl I have ever seen and I was wondering if I can get your number? If it's alright with you that is", I say taking a step back for the possible chance of Annie rejecting me, "I would love to give you my number Coral" says Annie as I take out my InkPhone and she adds her number to my contacts.

"Here you go coral" says Annie as she hands my phone back to me, but keeps her hand lingering on mines which makes me blush…again there is something about her that makes me blush no matter what she does.

"So I'll call you later when you close up shop for the day, is that okay with you?" I ask, "Or we could go out for some coffee?" Annie responds with a sly smile, how uncharacteristic of her but she look so cute doing it I cannot resist but smile,

"You mean close up shop right now?" I ask her to which she responds with that sly smile again, "Oh Blooper, she can make me do anything with that smile" I say to myself as Annie takes my hand and leads me out of the store,

"Yes I am closing up shop for today everyone is at the Championship Turf War today, so there were barely any customers today" so if anyone has any items they want to purchase they will have to wait until tomorrow", says Annie while still holding my hand as we walk the nearly empty streets of Inkopolis Square.

As we walk the empty streets we can hear the thunderous cheering of the Championship Turf War being held at the Kelp Dome, "was I supposed to be doing something because I feel like I forgot something…" I say to myself as Annie and I approach the café we get glances from different inklings and jelly fish around the café, "ummm Coral they are staring at us…" says Annie as she begins to clutch my arm when suddenly two oddly colored and oddly shaped inklings walk up to me and Annie, "excuse me how can I help you?" I ask the two 'inklings', but before I can ask further questions things turn hostile…


	4. I'd splat Octolings for you Baby!

Chapter 4: I'd splat Octolings for you Baby!

Coral's POV

As the two "inklings" pull out their weapons on us me and Annie take one step back to give us some distance if they decide to open fire at us, "hey! What the heck guys?! Inklings are forbidden to carry weapons outside of the Arenas what's your deal?" I ask them, but the only answer I received was the two cocking their weapons and pointing them at us,

I begin to look around as the inklings walk closer to us, I manage to spot out the weapons store that is still open so I begin to formulate a plan for me and Annie to escape,

"Annie I want you to listen to me good and follow my instructions on what I am about to tell you" I say to Annie who responds with a nod, "okay I want you to be brave for me okay see their weapons they are holding?" she nods, "the safety on the guns are on and whatever is in the paint guns is not ink so when they fire the guns it won't go off until they pull the trigger twice when I yell go I want you to run as fast as you can towards the café and hide I will handle these guys okay" I tell her in which she responds with a face of sheer terror,

"But what about you how will you escape? I don't want you to get yourself hurt" she says tearing up, "Don't worry about me Annie I'm a tough squid even though it may not look like it I'll be fine" I say to reassure her, but in actuality I'm terrified,

"Okay… GO!" I yell the moment I yell Annie takes off towards the café straight ahead as they begin to aim for her I tackle both inklings to the ground,

"These guys are Octolings!" I say to myself as I quickly get up and make a break for the weapons shop as the store clerk is beginning to close up shop,

"Hello and welcome to Ammo Knights my name is Sheldon- HEY! What are you doing!" yells Sheldon as I take the first weapon is see off of the rack to protect myself against the Octolings,

"You cannot just take something without paying for it first!" says Sheldon as I t to take cover between two weapon racks.

"Octolings don't talk do they?" I say to Sheldon as he looks outside to see what I am hiding from, "Octolings in Inkopolis?! Why are they here?" asks Sheldon taking cover next to me, "I have no idea where they came from, so your guess is as good as mine" I say trying to figure out how to use the weapon in my hands,

"You have to pull the trigger on the Splattershot Jr." instructs Sheldon as I finally manage to fire the weapon, "okay Coral you've got this" I say to myself as I shoot one of the Octolings and splatter them, their 'ghost' flying back to Octo Valley,

"Cool! I can get used to this!" I yell pumping my fist in the air as the other remaining Octoling goes in a fit of rage and charges me, "ahh ink me! I'm out ink! How do I refill this thing" I shout in frustration which catches the attention of Sheldon,

"Oh! Okay! You must be new to this (like really new…) you refill the Splattershot by going into your squid form and the Splattershot will refill itself" he explains as I go into my squid form and refill the Splattershot,

"Okay back in business!" I yell as the final Octoling tackles me to the ground and attempts to shoot me point blank, "Yaaaah!" screeches the Octoling, but before it can open fire I go to my squid form and swims behind the Octoling,

"Ehhhh?" sounds the Octoling before I open fire on it sending it's ghost on one way trip back to Octo Valley,

"That was amazing! You're a natural! How did you get so good with the Splattershot?" asks Sheldon while running up to me, "I don't really know it was a gut feeling that took over… I'll help you cleanup all the ink that I made" I say bowing profusely,

"It's okay you ink disappears by itself after a while so its fine" says Sheldon beginning to clean up the mess that the Octolings and I made, "You sure it's okay because I will stay and help you clean up and I'm going to put the Splattershot Jr. back in its place okay" I say leaving the store

"Okay now to go find Annie I hope she is okay…" I say jogging to the café. As I make my way to the café the sight of Annie's bright pink and green hair calms my nerves as I approach the café.

Annie's POV

As I dash off towards Silver Dollar café Moe hides in my hair as I turn around to see the two Octolings turn to face me with their guns drawn, "So… this is how it ends I was never able to live my life fully…" say to myself as I wait for the Octolings to shoot me I see Coral tackle the two Octolings which allows me time to get to the café,

I ram the door open to the café as I hear shoots being fired off in the direction of Ammo Knights, "I hope Coral made to safety…" I say to myself tearing up as Moe begins to speak,

"Annie that loser will be fine, he's a tough squid tougher than most of the other squids in the city, so don't worry about him he'll come running back to you with a stupid smile on his face" says Moe looking out towards Ammo Knights

"Wow Moe… that's the nicest thing you've ever said about anything… you must think of Coral as a friend don't you?" I say as Moe turns to me, "Don't tell Coral what was said okay because if you do he'll think I am a big softy and I cannot be a softy I need to keep up my tough guy image!" says Moe as the gunshots stop sounding off.

"The gunshots stopped hopefully Coral made it out okay" I say taking a seat at one of the many tables in the café, I cannot believe I was standing for so long,

After a couple of minutes of dreaded silence on the Horizon I see my knight in shining armor as he approaches the café,

"Coral!" I manage to yell as I run up to him my arms extended to hug the life out of him, "Annie! I told you I was going to be okay I'm a tough squid!" he replies as he hugs me back and holds me back as my face turns bright red,

"You had me scared back there! For a second I thought the Octolings would do you in!" I say looking into Coral's enchanting brown eyes,

"It's more than that to take me out and separate me from you" he says pulling me closer to him,

"What do you mean by that Cora- mmph! Mmmmmmm….." I say before getting cut off by a sudden passionate kiss from Coral. As we continue to kiss our kiss becomes more passionate as I begin kissing back as our tongues start to explore one another thoroughly,

"Mmm…ahhhh…." I moan out as Coral leans me against the wall as our kiss continues for what seems like a couple of minutes before we break apart leaving a small trail of saliva a remnant of my first kiss,

"That's what I mean by what I said I'll splat Octolings for you baby!" says Coral flashing a cool smile that makes me melt on the inside, "so what does this make us?" I ask twirling my index finger on his chest,

"What you don't want to be my girlfriend?" replies Coral to which I respond with another kiss, "that does not actually answer my question I'll need about two more of those before I get a definitive answer" says Coral which makes me giggle and playfully punch him in the chest as Coral walks me home

Please give me feedback on this Chapter!


	5. You Just Left Me There!

Chapter 5: You Just Left me There!

Important

"Good morning Inkopolis! Another day to spend with Annie!" I awake with a start while jumping off of my bed, but a strong feeling of unease creeps over me like I forgot something important it's the same feeling from yesterday,

"I still cannot shake the feeling like I forgot something important yesterday…. OH INK ME! I FORGOT ABOUT MEETING CYAN AT THE KELP DOME FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP TURF WAR!" I yell out loud knowing that I am going to be in so much trouble from Cyan for leaving her at the Kelp Dome,

After taking a hot shower and getting dressed I tiptoe out of the student complex from which I get a couple of questioning looks from other inklings as I make it to Inkopolis Square,

"Woo I made it to Inkopolis Square all I have to do is enjoy the rest of the day an-"I say before my name gets yelled by an all too familiar voice,

"CORAL!" yells Cyan while storming up to me her face red with rage, "You left me at the Kelp Dome all alone! What the hell man! If you were gonna bail on me then why didn't you just tell me that you were not gonna make it to the Kelp Dome I would have understood" yells Cyan making a scene in Inkopolis Square,

"Look, I understand why you are upset and I am very sorry for bailing on you it's just that something came up and-" I say before Cyan cuts me off for the second time,

"What was so Important that you had to bail on me HUH?!" she says as she shoves me back hard and takes a step back, "look I'm sorry I can make it up to you if you want me to how about we go to the Inkers versus The Sonic Ink's turf war today?" I say pointing to the to the Kelp Dome to which Cyan just sighs and crosses her arms,

"Fine… I guess lets go" she says as she starts to walk towards Kelp Dome,

As we walk towards Inkopolis square the giant Television sparks to life once again as Callie and Marie appear on the screen.

"I'm Callie" says Callie throwing her hands in the air, "And I'm Marie" says Marie throwing her hands in the air,

"I have a very important news flash that you all should hear" says Callie with a very stern look on her face, "what is it Callie?" says Marie with a questioning look that was equally concerned as Callie,

"Two Octolings were seen and reported in Inkopolis yesterday from the hours of 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm, we have eye witness reports of Octolings chasing and shooting at Inklings that fled the scene in terror, well except for one Inkling who held his own when the outlook was grim he defeated the two Octolings and sent them back to Octo Valley but who is this brave Inkling? This is the only picture we have of him" says Callie as a picture of a blurry Inkling appears on the screen.

"Hey Coral that kinda looks like you doesn't it? I mean that inkling is wearing the same outfit that you wore yesterday, right?" Cyan asks me, "Nah, it couldn't have been me many other inklings have the same outfits that I have so there is no way that could have been me." I reply as my mind wonders why I lied about that inkling on screen is not me,

"That's all urgent news we have for today, so in the meantime…" says Callie

"STAY FRESH!" yells Callie and Marie striking their signature poses, as the giant television shuts down the bustling city life continues while me and Cyan begin walking to the Kelp Dome,

"So what happened yesterday? And why did you leave me hanging like that?" asks Cyan as we pass by the shopping district of Inkopolis,

"ummm uh ummm I lost track of time doing something important…" I sheepishly reply to Cyan who by the way is not convinced by answer,

"What _**really**_ happened Coral don't lie to me either" says Cyan suddenly getting in my face leaving me no choice but to tell her the truth, or so I thought,

"I stopped the Octolings that were spotted in Inkopolis square yesterday and during the battle I got a little hurt, but I'm okay honestly" I say to Cyan whose concerned face turns into a face of shock and amazement,

"Really Coral that's amazing! I'm surprised that someone as shy as you can do something so heroic, yet stay so mysterious" says Cyan as she give me a tight hug, "why is she hugging me so tightly? And is she pressing her chest against mine?" I say to myself as I awkwardly pat her on the back, "okay we are going to be late for the turf war if we stall any longer" I say to her breaking the hug and once again walking towards Kelp Dome,

"So how did you take out the Octolings?" Cyan questions me, "well it went like this…"

15 minutes of storytelling later…

"…And that was how I took out the Octolings and sent them back towards Octo Valley with their tentacles between their legs" I say to cyan whose eyes were as large as burst bombs, "that's amazing coral! And you said that you were shy and introverted you're a hero!" says cyan throwing her hands into the air,

"I only did what I felt was right… and let's keep this between us ok? Because I don't like all the attention if everyone in Inkopolis found out okay" I tell her keeping a semi stern face to at least get my point across,

"Oh okay I won't tell anyone okay I promise" says cyan walking ahead of me and into the Kelp Dome where the main event was going underway

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Inkling boys and girls! Welcome to the championship match between the Inkers and the Sonic Ink championship match brought to you by… THE SQUID SISTERS" yells the announcer as the crowd goes wild with excitement,

"You having fun cyan?" I ask poking her arm getting her attention, "Yes this amazing! I've never been this close to the kelp dome from the bleachers before how did you get these amazing seats?" Cyan asks me while hugging me from the excitement,

"Well now a master must never reveal his secrets am I right?" I say giving Cyan a sly smile as the Squid Sisters music blares through the speakers and drowns us out by their squidiocentric beats and amazing vocals,

"This is very loud!" I yell out loud, but it is barely audible, "I wish this was quieter" I say, then all of a sudden the music abruptly gets cut short and the lights shut off…


	6. To the Viktor goes the spoils

Chapter 6: To the Viktor goes the spoils

As the lights shut off in the kelp dome leaving everyone in complete darkness as everyone begins to scream,

"What the hell is going on?! This is not what I meant by quieter!" I yell out loud as the spot lights flicker on to the center plateau in the middle of the dome making all the screaming come to a screeching halt, "Coral what's going on?" Cyan asks me looking frightened… very frightened. All suspicions are laid to rest once two Octoling appear on the center stage,

"We are taking over this Dome in the name of Octo Valley and we are taking you guys as hostages if Agents 1, 2, or 3 show up we are going to kill all of you" shouts the Octoling as the dome begins to fill up with Octarians pointing their guns into the crowd,

"What are we gonna do?" whispers Cyan as an Octarian stalks past us, takes a look at me, and calls for others. As other Octarians begin to surround me Cyan gives me the look of horror as the circle of Octarians grows tighter around me I'm left with no option as I begin to give up a booming voice in my head shouts at me to "RUN!" I take off in the direction of the stage as they begin to open fire at me,

"Oh shit! Things aren't looking good!" I say to myself as I reach center stage when suddenly the two Octolings swoop down right in front of me knocking me to the ground as the other stomps on my chest preventing me from moving, "Oh look at this! He thinks he is a hero! Trying to take us on!" says the first Octoling with what looks like Kelp tangled in her tentacles,

"Well what do you supposed we do with him boss" says the second Octoling without kelp in her tentacles, "We kill him and make an example out of him" she venomously says which lets me know that she means business… and not the good kind,

"EVERYBODY SHUT THE HELL UP!" yells the kelp Octoling over the mega phone which makes the whole kelp dome fall silent, "So apparently we have ourselves a little krill who was trying to play hero well let me tell you something squiddo: You. Are. Not. Agent 3" says the kelp Octoling, after each word she stomps harder on my chest,

"Well you aaallllll came here to see a show, well don't I got a treat for you were going to show you what an inkling brain looks like when its shot out by a e-liter 3k scope" says the Octoling as she charges the weapon, with a sickening smile of a murder… making it known that she has the intent on killing me,

"Well this is it huh…? Heh heh… I never got to live a full life yet, I never made a lot of friends, I never participated in a Turf war, I never got married, I never had any little squids of my own, but at least I got my first kiss and I fought off some Octolings that was pretty awesome" I say to myself as tears fall form my eyes as I wait for the e-liter 3k to fire and end my life, yet it does not happen, but I get splashed by a soda,

"Hey if these Octolings can step on our turf an' start demandin' shit like the own some shit they gotta' another thing commin'" yells a voice, "Errr… that's it I've had it with these degenerate squids OPEN FIRE KILL THEM ALL" yells the Octoling, but much to her chagrin no shots are fired,

"Me and my boys-""AND GIRL!""-and girl took out your little Octarian friends turns out some burst bombs really do a number on em' knocked em' all out!" yells the pompous voice which makes the Octoling even more furious, if that is even possible,

"Argh! What the hell! Useless guards" says the enraged Octoling stomping her foot, "Well if my guards cannot take you out then I will!" roars the Octoling taking aim at the pompous Inkling, yet she does not fire,

Before the Octoling can fire the e-liter she gets taken down, by the Inkling and his crew, "Damn you!-" yells the Octoling before getting splatted by the e-liter, As the shot reverberates throughout the Dome everyone in the stands takes that moment of complete silence to clear out of the Dome, leaving me, the squid that rescued me and his friends, and cyan all alone in the Dome, "Hey guy you alright guy?" says the Inkling lending a hand for me to grab,

"Yeah *sniff* I'm fine a little shaken but I am fine" I say wiping tears from my eyes, but no matter how many times I wipe my eyes the tears keep on coming, "it's okay bro, almost dying would have me crying like a baby too" he says with a big toothy grin and a hearty laughter,

"Thanks…" I say wiping ink from my face from the splattered Octoling, "by the way my name is Viktor and what's yours?" he says before extending his hand once again, "Oh! My-my name is Coral" I say shaking his hand,

"*snicker* isn't Coral a girl's name?!" he says between smirks which makes me blush from embarrassment, "No-no it's not! It's a unisex name! Either way you saved my gills back there!" I say brushing the dirt from my clothes as Cyan approaches us,

"CORAL! Are you okay! I was so scared I thought you were going to die…" exclaims cyan letting fresh tears free fall from her eyes, "Cyan it's okay now because I'm safe you should be thanking Viktor over for saving my gills" I say pointing to Viktor who blushes at the sight of cyan,

"We-well it was all instinct I don't want to see a fellow squid fall to the tentacles of an Octoling" he replies blushing heavily, "Well how noble of you!" says cyan giving Viktor a big hug which makes go into his squid form and fall into Cyan's arms,

"Get off of me!" yells cyan dropping Viktor to the ground, who then swims over to me, "Yo' bro are you her boyfriend?" he whispers to me which prompts a near immediate response from me, "No she is not my girlfriend" I whisper back to him which makes him jump for joy, but he tries to play-it-cool,

"Ah thanks man I owe ya' one!" he says giving me one of the most painful bear hugs of my life, "Yeah how so?" I question him, "Well I could join your squad in turf wars" he proposes to me, "Yeah that will work just fine Viktor" I say shaking his hand in agreement, "please call me Vik" he says as cyan begins to speak up,

"Are you guys done with all the bromancing" says cyan walking towards me and Vik, "One, we were not 'bromancing' and Two, he is a squad member how can you be so mean" I reply to which cyan takes a step back, "He's part of our squad now!" she says as Viktor gives her a cheeky smile,

"Hey you forgot about us we are in this chapter as well!" says one of Vik's friends that helped rescue me from certain death, "Shut up Bryson! The readers must not know that we know that they are reading this!" yells Viktor to his friend Bryson which leaves me and Cyan in complete ignorance,

"What the hell are you two idiots talking about?" questions cyan, "You guys don't know that someone is writing this?" replies Viktor and Bryson, "What are you talking about?" yells cyan getting upset, "Oh! You guys don't know huh… well it'll be our little secret then!" says Viktor gazing looking into the distance as if he is talking to someone,

"Whatever Viktor stop acting crazy let's go" says cyan walking towards the north exit of kelp dome, "Fine…my love" says Viktor which makes Cyan turn around with the swiftness, "What was that?" yells cyan to Viktor I'm so glad that the kelp dome was empty because everyone run out after the Octolings were defeated,

"It was nothing…my love" replies Viktor as well all leave Kelp Dome. As we leave Kelp Dome my mind begins to wonder, "how will things go from here? Who will be our final squad member? Will we become the best Squad known to squid? Will Annie and I go on another date in the future?" As all these thoughts rush through my head I find myself lingering behind everyone,

"Coral hurry up!" Yells Cyan knocking me out of my trance, "Okay I'm coming!" I reply before jogging to catch up with the others as we walk where ever our feet take us…


	7. Covering Ground

PLEASE READ NOTE BEFORE READING CHAPTER!: I am very sorry for not posting sooner find i took an impromptu vacation so please find it in your loving, forgiving, and merciful hearts to forgive an idiot like me who doesn't tell his friends know when he is taking a break from writing, but I believe I have way to compensate for that... heh heh heh

Chapter 7: Covering Ground

The shining sun rises over Octo Valley illuminating Inkopolis signaling the start of a brand new day. Our hero, Coral, can be heard quietly sound aslee- "*snore*…I don't have your money… check Mr. Crabs he's a shady guy…" mumbles Coral in his slumber as his alarm clock chimes loudly playing the squid sister's hit song "You and Me" (splatoon credits song in case you didn't know) "AHHH! I'm up!" I yell as the alarm clock blares music, "oh… *yawn* it's time to get up huh?" I ask myself turning off the alarm clock,

"Hmm what to do today?" I say getting into the shower letting the warm water wash over me as I contemplate on what to do today as my inkPhone begins to ring, "who's calling I guess they'll have to wait for now" I say as the phone stops ringing and it goes to voice mail,

"Hey it's Cyan calling you just checking to see if we are still going to meet up at Inkopolis Tower for some turf battles" says Cyan on the phone before ending the call, "well at least I know what I am doing today" I say to myself as I get out of the shower. After drying off and getting dressed for the day wearing a basic t-shirt and a pair of cream basics and some shorts, "okay ready for the day… now where is Inkopolis Tower again?" I ask myself which brings up a flashback of when I asked Cyan the same question,

"How could you forget? It's the biggest and most iconic Tower in Inkopolis! We are literally standing right in front of it just take the train to Inkopolis station and it is right in front of you now don't forget okay" as the flashback ends I find myself standing in front of an angered Cyan, "finally decided to show up huh? *sigh* well let's just get this over with okay" she starts walking into the tower

Inside of the tower EDM is blaring from the speakers I nearly have to shout to get Cyan's attention "so what exactly are we doing in Inkopolis tower anyway?!" I question "Well we are going to register you into the Inkopolis system so that you can participate in turf wars" she says as we approach the front desk

"Hello and welcome to Inkopolis Tower my name is Michi how may I help you today?" says the front desk lady Michi , "Yes my friend Coral here would like to apply for a splat license" explains Cyan, "Oh yes are you Coral miss?" asks Michi to Cyan, "OH! Me? Oh no my _**male**_ friend here is named Coral not me, him" explains Cyan which makes Michi blush with embarrassment,

"Oh! My Apologies Mr. Coral, but doesn't Coral happen to be a maiden's name?" asks Michi which makes Coral shudder, "M-My mother's name is Coral…" I explain which makes Cyan burst out laughing, who then tries to stop her laughing with coughing, "It also doesn't help that I look almost like my mother…" I quietly say to myself recalling all the times where I was teased in middle school about my name, especially when your mom was your homeroom teacher*sigh*, "well okay Mr. Coral all we need to do is take your picture and sign these forms and we shall be done" Michi states with a smile

Finishing the dull task of signing all those forms I hand them into michi who begins to process them as I get lead by another worker to the photo booth to get my picture taken, "Now, don't blink please you may not like what you see after the picture comes out" says the worker behind the camera as I flash my most charming smile then my phone vibrates I look down to see Annie has texted me I begin to blush did the camera flash or was it just my imagination? It don't matter just Annie texted me…

Annie: Hey! XD

Coral: Heyyy you wats up?

Annie: nuthin much… slow work day today wyd

Coral: gettin my splat licenscee

Coral: license

Annie: Great hope to see u in turf wars #gottasplatemall

Coral: love u

Annie: wuv u too btw moe says hi lol

Coral: tell the little guy I said wassup

Annie: he called you a loser lol that's his way of saying hey back

Coral: I know he'll come around someday

Annie: kk I gotta go customers comin see u later

Coral: coffee after u get off?

Annie: only if octarians don't ruin it

Coral: lol if they do I'll take care of them ;)

Annie: my hero i love you

Coral: Alright see you then

Annie: see you then babe

As I finish my conversation with Annie I look around to see the photographer snickering to himself, "what's so funny?" I ask the photographer who just busts out, side curdling laughter, "just look at your picture!" he says between breathes I take a look at the picture and see what's so funny: as the camera flashed I looked down to check my to check my phone I blinked and we all know that if you blink during a photoshoot the picture is guaranteed to be ugly no matter what. The photographer finished laughing he offers to take another one stating that the first picture is "punishment enough" for not following directions the first time

15 minutes later I emerge from the photo booth with my new splat license in hand to find Cyan sitting on the lounge couch nearly sleep "I see you had a nice rest" I say to Cyan startling her from her sleep, "huh? What? Oh! You're done what took you so long?" she groggily asks, "the picture came out wrong so I had to take another one" I say plopping down nest to Cyan on the lounge couch,

"So now that you have your splat license let's go get a one on one turf battle!" exclaims Cyan hopping off of the couch then pulling me off the couch "okay but let me warn you I have little to no experience with Turf Wars so go easy on me until I say otherwise deal?" I say extending my hand as Cyan grabs my hand and firmly shakes it "okay then slayer of Octarians follow my lead!" says Cyan leading me towards an elevator still holding my hand "maybe she is used to dealing with little inklings showing them around that could be why she is still holding my hand" I say to myself as we enter the elevator, "ummmm Cyan" I say getting her attention "yes coral?" she responds "you're still holding my hand" I say which makes Cyan snatch her hand away as we ride the remainder of the elevator going to the 6th floor in silence

 **Ending Note:**

So i have a proposition to make: during my impromptu vacation i have come up with a new splatoon story i think you guys might like, but it is on the more mature side if i may put it lightly so if you guys want to read it feel free to pm me or put it in the review section for this chapter if you guys want to read it, if o get enough people that want to read it i will post the first chapter and we will go from there once again tell me of you want to read it i'm looking forward to you're responses friends!


	8. High Noon

Coral's POV

After I signed many forms and took my picture for my splat license I am finally ready to participate in turf wars, but before that Cyan insisted that I do a practice run with her. "So were going to Morray Towers ok Coral" explains Cyan as we ride up the elevator towards these said towers, "ok so the goal of turf wars is to cover the map with your team color before the other team right?" I ask cyan, "Not entirely it's basically a back and forth battle between two teams where both teams are trying to mark up the most territory before the timer ends" she explains as the elevator dings signaling that we have arrived on the top floor.

We arrive on the top floor of Morray Towers cyan points to a far off ledge on the other side of the building, "So where we are currently standing this is one base and on the far ledge on the other side is another base I will be going over there so basically try to mark more territory than me ok I brought you a basic splattershot, it's for newbies so don't worry ok" she says before super jumping over to the other side of the building, "ok so all I have to do is mark more territory than cyan sounds easy enough" I say to myself as I jump off of the ledge towards the center of the stage.

Cyan's POV

"Maybe I should take it easy on little coral? I don't want to crush him and make him hate turf wars, ya know what I'll take semi easy on him he seems to be quick on his feet so he can figure out the best phase of action" I say to myself taking out my e-liter 3k scope, my signature "tryhard, get no scoped", weapon as I make my towards the center of the stage.

I make it to the center of the stage I duck behind one of the many available ramparts as I scan the immediate vicinity for any signs of coral, "where are you…" I say to in a low whisper as the sound of inkshots hit the ground and coral dashes across the center of the stage, "found you…" I say looking into the scope of my e-liter and aim for his head, "this may sting coral" I say with a sly grin as I press the trigger on my sniper, but coral is no longer there, "where the…" I say before I see coral swimming the other way maybe he saw the laser on my e-liter? Anyway I have to reposition myself.

Coral's POV

I begin to ink up some of the map with the splattershot cyan gave me at first everything seems to be going smoothly my "special" seems to be available so I can save that until things get crazy and I find myself pinned down. But the moment I said things were going smoothly a light green laser appears to have its sights set on me for a second I stood their but then the realization hit me and I immediately shot a couple of shots aimed away from the laser and I quickly swim away as the cyan colored ink covers the spot I just was, "man that was close!" I sigh out loud as I duck behind cover attempting to gather myself from the recent shock of almost being sniped, "so that's how she is gonna play this eh?" I say to myself as I now know where she is with the sun shining off of her scope, "gotcha" I say as I take the higher ground slowly making my way around staying out of sight of Cyan until I draw near.

Cyan's POV

"I haven't seen coral since I tried to snipe him a while ago maybe he wizened up and just inked other ground?" I say to myself placing my weapon next to me as I stare into the sky, "It's a nice day today maybe I can take coral shopping after this maybe upgrade his gear?" I say to myself as I begin to hum a slight tune completely unaware of what was to happen next. As I stare into the sky I did not realize coral snaking his way up to me, "surprise…" A voice whipsers behind me as a gun is placed into my back in a split second I grab my gun and fire it at my attackers head the words "Splatted Coral" display above the corpse I am now standing over a whistle blows signaling the end of the match as I emerge victorious by complete accident I walk over to coral who seems to be rubbing his forehead possibly in the place where I shot him.

"Hey you ok coral?" I sheepishly ask him to which he just nods his head, "that was really cool!" he exclaims, "how'd you learn to move so fast in such a little time?" he exclaims grabbing my hands, "teach me oh master sniper-sama" he says in a mock traditional tone of voice which makes me laugh and slightly blush, "it takes months and months of practice with this gun to even get the reaction time, but that's enough practice for one day lets go get some food" I say leading coral towards the elevator.


	9. Breakfast

Breakfast

Coral's POV

As we travel down the elevator cyan begins to shift uncomfortably, "Cyan I am fine don't worry, e-liters don't do lasting damage" I console her placing my hand on her shoulder, "no its not Coral I could have really hurt you" she says facing me, "but you didn't hurt me so don't worry you seem to be a really good shot so I know that I can trust you when it comes down to it" I reply hugging her to which she gingerly returns the hug the elevator dings as we walk out of Inkopolis Tower towards the crowd of inklings

"so where we going coach?" I ask cyan elbowing her shoulder which takes her out of a daze, "Oh! um you hungry because I sure am" she says taking my hand and running towards the café, "the café this is the same place I was going to take Annie before the octolings attacked us which reminds me I have to talk to Annie before the end of the day" I think to myself as me and cyan enter the café.

"Welcome to Reef Café, may I take your orders" welcomes to the cashier of the café, "yes good morning, are there any available tables around?" asks cyan leaning on the counter, "yes follow me" says the cashier leaving her post, "will a booth table be too much?" asks coral to the lady, "oh not at all there is an open booth this way" she says pointing to the right as she hands us menus, "so what sounds good to you coral?" asks cyan as we take our seat across from one another, "hmmmmmm… I think the High Tide omelet sound good, what about you?" I reply to which cyan nods in agreement,

"well I think the Sand Dollar Pancakes sound amazing!" exclaims cyan throwing her hands in the air, "well I didn't know we were eating the same thing?" I say giving a slight shrug making cyan blush a light pink, "I-I mean we don't have to eat the same thing ya know! It-It just that there is this special today for people who eat the same thing" stutters cyan hiding her face behind the menu, "sort of like couples right? You were talking the couples special right? I guess we could do that" I reply with another casual shrug

"Re-Really…?" replies cyan her eyes sparkling, "yeah sure what's breakfast between friends?" I say to her, "O-Oh yeah you're right what's breakfast between friends right…?" she says visibly sad but I can't really put my tentacle on it but before I can put more thought into it a waiter comes around our table

"Are you two ready to order?" asks the waiter, "Yes we are" replies cyan, "We would like the friends- I mean couple's special" orders cyan as the waiter writes it down on a notepad, "Oh! Are you two a couple?" asks the waiter, "No, we are not a couple *pfft* I mean look at him, heh, he's a bit on the chubby side if ya ask me" laughs cyan which makes me look down at my stomach self-consciously it pokes out a tiny bit when I sit down, but it still makes me feel bad nonetheless.

"Well if your not a couple then-" "We'll just get the regular breakfast special then" cyan cuts off the waiter who then makes a correction with the order on the notepad, "well then your order will be ready in 10 what drinks will you be having?" prompts the waiter, "I'll have the anemone tea" says cyan, and I'll have the island splash thank you" I reply handing our menus to the waiter, "well then your order will be ready within 10 minutes" says the waiter with a bow then walks off,

"What are you upset about?" I ask cyan who looks visibly angry, "nothing is wrong, everything is perfectly fine" she replies with attitude, "well… ok if you say so" I retort looking out of the window towards Cooler Heads, "I need to talk to Annie later, I can't talk to her now she's at work, oh yeah we could talk after she gets out of work" I think to myself pulling my InkPhone:

Coral: Hey Annie

Annie: Heyyy you whats up?

Coral: Nothin much eating breakfast with a friend

Annie: oh really whatcha eating?

Coral: ummmm im eating the breakfast special

Annie: whast the breakfast special?

Annie: whats*

Coral: I believe its the sand dollar pancakes, high tide omelet, and crabby cakes

Annie: ohhh sounds tasty! I want some

Coral: I'll be sure to get you some also btw

Annie: yeah?

Coral: I need to talk to you when are you off of work?

Annie: I get off at 10pm whats on your mind?

Coral: its too important to text it to you ur gonna have to wait

Annie: sure I guess I'll see you at 10 then?

Coral: yeah you will have a nice day at work

Annie: thanks 3

After I finish texting Annie, the waiter is approaching our table with the food and drinks, "your orders are ready, enjoy the food" says the waiter handing us our food, "time to dig in" I say digging into my pancakes, but cyan doesn't seem to be eating, "cyan are you sure you are ok?" I ask her to which she just pokes her food with her fork, "yeah I'm fine just not hungry right now…" replies cyan, "*sigh* ok, but if something IS bothering you just tell me" I say placing my hand on her shoulder making her blush slightly.


	10. Spicy Pre-game Lobby

Author's Note: I'm back and not dead! I was enjoying my summer break away from the stress of college and I wanted to begin writing again I may be a bit rusty but with a bit of practice I'll be back to my old writing self again!

Spicy Pre-game Lobby

After a really awkward breakfast between cyan and I, we once again head out towards inkopolis tower to participate in some turf wars,

"I'm still new to this, but I hope I don't slow you down" I say patting cyan on the back which seems to perk her up, "Yeah Yeah yeah whatever just don't get in my way" she replies punching my shoulder, "don't worry you'll do fine just don't get splatted and ink any turf that not ours, but if it does come down to it just splat them before they splat you" cyan adds as we step into the lobby.

A couple of minutes later we manage to find a game with some level 50 squids, two boys and a girl, "so you're a fresh level 1 huh?" says one of the squids, "yeah I'm very new to this, I know about turf wars but I have never been in one" I reply, "ohhhh where you from squid, calamari country?" asks one of the level 50's,

"Oh no no no no no… I grew up in New Ink City, its where Museum d'Alfonsino is located" I reply making all the inklings on my team jump back in surprise even cyan, "YOU'RE FROM NEW INK CITY?!" they all say in unison, "yes most of the time I don't get that reaction, mostly everyone is all like 'you're a city boy who don't know nothing about country life!'" I say doing my best impression of an elderly squid, "well I heard city squids are really cute" says one of the females in the room making cyan blush, "HE'S OFF THE MARKET!" cyan exclaims her face a furious shade of crimson

"Well if you must know city boy, my names Jenna and I'd love to teach you some things" purrs Jenna sitting next to me, "so tell me… what you want to know…" Jenna whispers into my ear drawing closer to me sending shivers up and down my back, "Jenna leave the boy alone you're scaring him, and I'm mike by the way nice to meet you" says mike plucking Jenna on the side of her head, "Fine but you won't get away so quickly next time city boy…" Jenna purrs before heading towards her original seat on the, but the name Jenna where have I heard it before?

"Hey city squid, I never caught your name" says the other squid extending his hand, "names' Nick don't wear it out", "nice to meet you my name is coral… don't wear it out?" I reply shaking his hand awkwardly, "heh heh don't worry dude we won't bite, well maybe Jenna cuz' she's weird like that, but mostly we won't bite" he says placing his weapon, a paint brush on his shoulder,

"Ok now that formalities are out of the way let's get to business" says mike calling in for a team huddle, "so the map we are going to is Museum d'Alfonsino so I'm assuming that coral here is familiar with the place am I correct?" explains mike looking at me, "Y-yes I know the place like the back of my hand" I reply while mike nods in agreement, "ok great so let's use some of your prior knowledge to set up some snipe points for me and some stress points on the map" he says making circular motions with his hands to signal what he's talking about, "o-ok from what I know from past visits there is a spot in the far lefty corner that is just out of reach of normal weapons, except a squelcher and its dual variant and other snipers, but other than that you're golden to camp there" I reply, "great for me, but wouldn't that spot have a lot of map coverage?" he asks me placing his left hand on his chin, "definitely, but the most you'll have to worry about will be other snipers rushing for the same spot as you, so I'd definitely go there I hope you're ready for a skirmish for that spot" I say to mike which he curtly responds with knocking his knuckles together signaling that he isn't scared of a fight,

"Anything else we should worry about?" asks cyan, "yes the middle of the museum is the most dangerous as everyone will be fighting for coverage especially rollers and snipers, but more importantly rollers", I reply to cyan she nods in agreement, "and advice for me handsome?" says Jenna, "uh-Uh-uh umm let-let's see here you can if you can stay out of the sight of snipers then you should be able to ink some side passageways that no one truly pays attention too" I stutter out in which she mulls over my response for a second then gives it the ok, "well team sounds like we got game plan going on we are nearing the museum platform as we speak so get ready" announces Mike the museum coming into view, "my first turf war I'm so excited" I say to myself giddy and nervous with anticipation, but mostly excited


	11. Important Update (WAIT FOR EEL? )

Just a quick update to the story, I know I haven't written much of anything regarding the story in a while, but with the release of new information regarding Splatoon 2 I've decided to change up the story a little bit, nothing too drastic, but the things I do intend on changing are:

I would like to develop a schedule for writing this story (I plan on hopefully releasing a new chapter later this evening)

Coral's hometown is now the new Inkopolis Square that was featured in the Nintendo direct for Splatoon 2 so whenever I say "New Ink City" I mean the new Inkopolis Square

I'm changing the way the story will be progressing to better align with the lore of Splatoon 2

Marina will always be my favorite Octarian (until Nintendo proves otherwise…)

I would like the story to take a step back from more mature situations until I feel the need for one is needed, the romantic scenes will be more or less the same

I do have an ending planned out that I think will please everyone of my readers (hopefully)

This story will be a predecessor to another story I have begun writing so stay tuned to that when it pops up

And remember…

DON'T GET COOKED, STAY OFF THE HOOK!


	12. My first Turf War (The REEL deal)

My First Turf War

Nearing the top of the platform sunshine seeps through the top of the elevator signaling that it's time to fight, "nervous kid?" asks mike giving me a sideways glance, "y-yeah a little you?" I respond squeezing the splattershot cyan gave me, "a little, but being a little nervous is good it keeps you on your toes, also a word of advice bob and weave through shots they'll never expect it that's when you go in for the kill" explains mike, "look alive people!" shouts nick pointing to the open door to the museum, "LETS GO!" shouts cyan sprinting off the platform into the fray.

"o-o-ok just calm down a bit Coral you've seen numerous turf wars you know what to do" taking careful steps off the platform I begin to ink turf making my way to the center of the stage, "Coral back me up!" says cyan pulling me over to some cover, "you're going to need to move faster than that if you want to survive out here wait-" explains cyan flicking her roller and splatting an unfortunate squid that wasn't paying attention, "-now as I was saying don't be afraid ok it doesn't matter if you lose as long as you're enjoying yourself" says cyan placing a gentle hand on my shoulder, "now I want to see quick feet out there, if you can splat octolings then I'm damn sure you can splat some Ink scrubs!" cyan then charges out back into the chaos inking some loss turf during our exchange,

"Get it together ok Coral this is your time ok, make your own opportunities" I say to myself getting into the zone charging out from behind cover and catching up to cyan who was having some issues with another roller, "careful coral that's a dynamo roller, very powerful" cyan using a diving flick maneuver to dodge as well as attack the inkling I take the opportunity to fire a couple of shots at the inkling splatting him watching him fly back to spawn feels me with the confidence to rush the other side of the base where the opposing team has on lock

"Mike, nick back me I'm going in!" I shout mike focusing his sights towards the upper levels of museum as nick takes the low side paths catching any stray inklings, I take up the center inking up any turf I come across, "oh hold fast my squid you seem to be on the wrong side here Nico, Jorge come come" a voice comes from behind I find myself suddenly surrounded by dark blue ink, "who's this squid boss? He seems lost heh heh" another squid slowly rises from the ink a dynamo roller poised and ready to lay down the hammer, "just splat him and make it quick Nico, no time for theatrics we're losing thanks to this guy catch yall later I have a game to win" explains boss pulling out a hydra splattling, "such a shame you seem like such a nice guy too, that first time you caught me was a fluke now it's payback time" he says before dropping this guillotine of a weapon directly on me,

After being splatted by that dynamo roller kid I find myself floating back to the spawn point it feels like I am a physical spirit, almost like I am here but at the same time I'm not here, it feels so surreal

"CORAL!" screams cyan as my inky essence floats back to the spawn point, "Coral? Such a girls' name" chuckles Nico swimming off when suddenly an alarm goes off, "ONE MINUTE REMAINIG!" meows the feline announcer, Judd.

"Time to get my head in the game I need to get back in there who's the furthest away from battle" I take a quick look around the map 45 seconds on the clock I spot mike perched on a ledge sniping away I go into my squid form my mantle filling up with ink until I shoot off landing next to mike, "oh shit! Damn dude you scared the hell outta me" he exclaims clutching his chest, "sorry but I needed to get back into the fight what's things looking like since I got splatted?" I ask mike giving me the rundown, "so we're neck and neck ok I'm going in" I say jumping down from the ledge inking up as much turf I can in 22 seconds,

"Cyan behind you!" I shout alerting cyan as she splats the inkling behind her, "just like old times coral?" he jokes before speeding off to ink some more, "10 SECONDS!" meows Judd the large screen behind begins the final countdown, "5….4….3….2….1….STOP!" Judd blows the whistle the once hectic museum is now silent the giant screen shows an aerial view of the museum, "looks like we inked more turf coral" says cyan appearing next to me, "I think so too" I reply as Judd measures the amount of ink from both sides, "do you think we won?" I ask mike, "maybe dude I'm kinda nervous" after finishing his sentence Judd does a little dance before striking a pose signaling the winning team…


	13. Taking two steps backwards

Taking two steps backwards…

"Do you think we won?" I ask mike, S"maybe dude I'm kinda nervous" mike finishes his sentence Judd does a little dance before striking a pose signaling the winning team,

"ORANGE TEAM WINS!" meows Judd confetti suddenly raining down on us, "yes congrats Coral you just had your first taste of a Turf War and the sweet, sweet taste of victory, how do you feel" asks cyan her face brimming with happiness, "I feel good, more relieved really my debut match ended in victory so yeah I feel like I can take on great white!" I say puffing my chest out, "heh, I can set that up for you if you want" replies cyan elbowing me, "nah I'm good" my phone begins to vibrate I check it to see it to see that Annie has texted me congratulating me for a job well done:

Annie: Inkredible job out there! You really showed them what you're made of!

Coral: nah it was nothing special I got carried by the others

Annie not true you ink so much turf my favorite part of the battle was when you charged in and the sniper followed suit

Coral: You think so? I saw an opportunity and I took it

Annie: well I want to see you do that more often

Coral: well I'm going to celebrate with the team on my first win we're going to a place called "shelly's"

Annie: ohhhh that's a good one you have to try their inky soba noodles they are to die for!

Coral: yeah? I'll have to try them when I get there ttyl

Annie: see you, we still on for our talk once I leave work?

Coral: sure where do you me to wait for you at?

Annie: ummmm maybe the Reef Café? Coffee and a chat how about that?

Coral: uh sure see you when you get off

"Who you texting coral?" asks Jenna trying to get a peek at my phone, "some old friends of mine" I lie putting my phone in my pocket she seems to take the bait, "sure some 'old friends' hey you know what you should sit next to me at the restaurant" she states, "cyan you wouldn't mind if I borrowed Coral for a meal right?" Jenna asks cyan who blushes like crazy, "w-why would you say that? I d-don't own him or anything do what you want I guess" stammers cyan placing her hands between Jenna and herself,

"Guys we're here and please don't yell inside of the restaurant" states mike as we enter the restaurant traditional calamari style music can be heard, "a table for 5 please" asks mike towards the waiter dressed in a pastel green kimono embroidered with gold zapfish patterns,

"this way" replies the waiter leading the way towards a booth stationed next to a large ornate window giving us a great view of the purplish-orange sky, "what a nice view" gasps cyan completely enthralled with the amazing view of the sunset, "here are the menus, please take your time when considering a meal" says the waiter suddenly disappearing, "how'd he do that?!" I say caught off guard with the fact that our waiter just disappeared into a cloud of smoke, "oh I probably forgot to tell you, the theme of Shelly's is samurais vs. ninjas if we can guess who is the ninja disguised as a samurai or vice versa then the meal is free, but if you guess incorrectly then you'll have to pay for the meal and extra" explains mike taking a seat opening his menu,

"Coral sit here, I'll be right back" points Jenna cyan sits opposite of me as I take my seat, "so what are you going to get cyan?" I ask her making small talk, "hmmm I don't really know, the tempura shrimp ramen sounds nice what about you?" "I think I might try the… inky soba noodles I heard they are to die for" I reply, "oh really? Who told you that?" asks cyan giving me a questionable look, "s-some c-close friends of mine you know they've told me that they've been here before and that I should try it" I stutter out making cyan giggle a little bit, "I'm not interrogating you dude I just think it's cool that you know what you want its admirable" cyan shifts one of her tentacles out of the way the last remaining bits of sunlight reflects off of her eyes creating a mini star show in her eyes,

"I don't know if it's the light that's hitting her at just the right angle but she looks really… never mind stop staring you're being weird coral and besides don't we have Annie you know the adorable anemone at cooler heads? She's way cuter any way" a mental dialogue fills my head I find myself staring outside into the changing sky turn from a purple to a dark blue some stars can be seen from where I am sitting,

"Nick said he won't be sitting with us he and his girl are having a date they're a couple booths down" explains mike, "ok guys I'm back did I miss anything coral?" Jenna plops down next to me… a little too close to me, "so what are you getting?" asks Jenna, "I'm getting the inky soba noodles, what about you?" "I'll have the grilled sea bass with a teriyaki dipping sauce" Jenna finishes the waiter appearing out of nowhere,

"Ready to order? Can I start you off with some drinks?" asks the waiter pulling a small notepad from inside his kimono, "how about a pot of green tea for the table? Yeah a pot of green tea would be nice" says mike the waiter jots it down, "meals?" "I guess I'll start, I will have the inky soba noodles" I say, "I will have the tempura shrimp ramen" cyan says, "I'll take the grilled sea bass with the teriyaki dipping sauce" says Jenna, "and I will have the power egg drop soup, that'll be all" finishes mike the waiter taking a moment to take down our orders before speaking,

"the food will be ready within 30 minutes" instead of disappearing into a cloud of smoke the waiter walks off and rounds a corner, but maybe I was the only one who took notice?


	14. To Super Jump into the Future

To Super Jump into the Future

After watching the waiter disappear behind a corner my mind begins to wonder on how I exactly tend to handle the impending talk I will be having with Annie, "I guess I can start off by complimenting her, that seems like a good way, then we can get into the conversation" I mutter under my breath creating a mental plan, but it doesn't go unheard by Jenna, "what are you talking about Coral? I heard you saying something were you talking to me?" Jenna asks me, "no just thinking out loud about some things" I reply but she presses further, "I heard you say her? You were talking about someone are they at this table?" Jenna adds trying to stir up some drama,

"Wait?! No why would I be talking about any girl at this tabl-" I stop mid-sentence realizing I just took the bait, "oh blooper dammit! Someone ink me now please!" I mentally curse myself, "what's wrong with us girls at the table? What are we not pretty enough for you?" snaps Jenna a little upset, "Jenna I'm pretty sure Coral didn't mean it like that" Cyan tries to calm jenna down but she is having none of it

"If it's not us then who Coral? Do you think you're better than us?" Jenna yells drawing some attention from nearby booths and tables, "Jenna please calm down, I don't think I am better than anyone I just wasn't talking about you guys specifically I was talking about someone else" I try to clear the air keeping certain names from spilling out but now Cyan is curious, "well then who ARE you talking about then Coral? You can be truthful to me we are friends, right?" cyan asks me, I feel trapped in a corner right now I need to find a way out of this soon.

All seemed bleak but luckily my savior came in the form of the waiter bringing us our food and drinks, "one inky soba for the gentlesquid in orange, a premium tempura shrimp ramen for the prestigious lady, a delectable power egg drop soup for the dashing young man, and last but certainly not least grilled sea bass with teriyaki dipping sauce for the beautiful woman here" the waiter hands us the food while handing out compliments like it was nothing, "alright guys leave Coral alone and let's eat!" says mike

The sound of utensils and chopsticks can be heard hitting the plates in between bites I find myself looking outside mainly because I don't feel comfortable looking elsewhere and because it's nice out, but I can't help but feel someone is staring at me, "Coral" cyan says staring at me but it feels like she's staring daggers into my soul looking for a hidden answer, "y-yes?" I reply, "Nothing" cyan scoffs before returning back to her food, "she wants to know who I was talking about, but I can't tell her not until I sort things out, I don't know why she acts so differently whenever my love life is mentioned" I think to myself, "these inky soba noodles really are good!" I exclaim, "Did that girl tell you about those?" jenna mutters under her breath cyan chuckles a little, "what a bitch move jenna" I think to myself I check my phone to see the time it's a little after 10 pm so Annie must be closing up shop by now, suddenly feeling the urge to leave I pull out my wallet putting 2000 credits on the table, "that should be enough to pay for my meal" I call for the waiter requesting a to go container he returns shortly after I pack up my food and I turn to leave, "excuse me Jenna" I ask politely even though my body wants to give her a different, ruder gesture, "you going to tell me about that girl now or am I going to have to find out for myself?" she sneers, I've had it up to my tentacles with her bullshit instead of being rude I be more stern when I want her to move

"Out of my way I have somewhere more important to be" I growl making jenna step aside, "thanks for the meal mike I owe you one" I thank him before exiting the shop, "man fuck those guys!" I say to myself walking down the street, "I don't know what their problem was, but I'm going to keep my distance from them for a little bit, Jenna I hope I never see her again, but cyan she was something else, I think I'll take some solo days for myself starting tomorrow" I find myself in back in Inkopolis square I watch as the last of the shops close up,

"Hey coral!" a familiar voice calls out, "hey Annie what's up?" Annie hugs me as I finish my sentence, "nothing much I closed up shop not too long ago how was your day?" she asks me, "my day started off well and ended terrible" I pout Annie places a gentle hand on my cheek, "well you day hasn't ended yet you still have me" she smiles one of the sweetest smiles I've ever seen it brightens up my mood, "yeah that's true… you want to get some coffee at the Sunkin' Ship?" I ask her, "That would be nice"

Annie and I make our way towards the café a cool breeze flows through Inkopolis Square, "it's a bit cold out" annie says gingerly interlocking her hand with mine, "yes it is" giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. We finally reach our destination "Sunkin' Ship" café, "so what did you want to talk about?" annie asks I guide her to a table near the back of the room so we can have some privacy, "I wanted to talk about us" peaking her attention annie becomes uneasy, "what about us? Are we not working? Oh no… is it me?" with every question annie becomes increasingly nervous I put my hand on her shoulder, "no it's not that, I just think that we are going too fast, I mean I saved you from some *whispers*octolings and now we're boyfriend and girlfriend I mean it's just too fast for my liking" I say taking my hand off of her shoulder, "I can see that so what do you want to do?" she questions me calming down, "well it's not like I can just ask to start over, no I want to earn the title of boyfriend, like take you out on dates and buy you things" I say blushing a little,

"coral I don't need those things to be happy, just knowing that you said that you love me makes me more than happy to call you my boyfriend" annie says that making my face turn from its normal brown tone to a light shade of pink, "y-you really t-think s-so" I stutter out to which annie giggles, "yes although I do appreciate you for wanting to take things slow, how about this a week from now you can take me on a date how does that sound?" asks annie, "wait are you asking me out or am I asking you out?" I joke me and annie both share a laugh, "I'll go get us some coffee any preferences?" I ask getting out of my chair,

"yes I like my coffee dark and handsome *giggle*" " annie blushes "I think I just fell in love with you all over again" "really though for the time of day I'd like it mellow with a lot of cream" "ok I got it be right back" I say making my way over to the cashier to order our drinks, "this went better than I thought it would have, but she wants me to take her out on a date, but where should I take her? Should the date be casual or more romantic? So many damn choices!" millions of questions fly past me in my mind that I didn't notice that I was at the front of the store, "hey buddy you okay?" asks the worker behind counter, "I'm more than okay I'm going on a date!" the excitement I feel would radiate off of my body if it could, "oh congrats man now what can I get you this evening?" he says pulling out a notepad, "let's see… I'll have the low tide blend with lots of milk and two spoons of sugar, and for the other I'll have a tropical reef roast with a lot of cream and one spoon of sugar" the worker finishes writing down the order,

"What'll be the size of the drinks?" asks the worker, "one moment" I say walking back to annie, "what size do you want?" I ask her, she mulls it over for a second or two before answering, "uhhh it doesn't really matter, but I guess medium" she says before I return back to the worker, "for the tropical reef it'll be a medium and for the low tide blend it'll be a large" I finish the order the worker inputs the order into a cash register, "that'll be 350 credits" he says I pull out my wallet and pay him, "I'll call you when your order is ready"

He says before disappearing behind some coffee machines, "So what do you want to do after this?" "I don't know perhaps I will go home I have to prepare for work tomorrow I need to be there extra early there's going to be a new *yawn* shipment of hats that will need to be set up and organized" annie says between yawns, "someone looks sleepy want me to walk you home?" I offer, "yeah sure that would be nice" she says giving me a little sleepy smile, "so cute" I think to myself, "order of two coffees, one tropical, another low tide" says the worker handing me the drinks, "thanks we'll be on our way now, have a good night" I respond holding the coffee in one hand I take Annie's other hand and leader her out of the store,

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to doze off in the store back there" says annie beginning to lag behind, "no its fine you are sleepy" I say slowing down my pace to be with her, "you don't have to slow down for me you know *yawn*" annie says while stretching "know what I have a better idea climb on my back" kneeling down I set the coffee down allowing annie to climb on, "thanks Coral mmm…" annie snuggles into my back the feeling of her small tentacles lightly tickle the back of my neck, "hey pretty you can't fall asleep yet we need to get you home" I say waking her up a little bit, "just walk down Toa Toa Boulevard my home is the second on the right" she says drifting off back to sleep I make a quiet contempt sigh walking down the street towards her house a light breeze kicks up the moon high above Inkopolis Square I stop to admire it for a second, "such a nice night, it's even better when you have someone to share it with" I say to myself continuing my way towards Annie's house…


	15. Wonderful Mornings with You

Wonderful Mornings with You

Dawn once again rises over Octo Valley illuminating the nearby terrain, birds can be heard chirping outside of the window as the first rays of sunlight bounce off the window and onto my face. Waking up in a room that wasn't my own was a bit of a shock for me but the events of last night fade their way from the back of my mind:

*flashback to last night* "Annie we're here" I manage to rouse her from her light slumber, "mmmm…?" annie mumbles not lifting her head she lazily reaching into hoodie pocket she pulls out a pair of keys, "mmm…" she lightly shakes her keys dropping them into my hand, "*small yawn* which key is it?" I ask annie, but she doesn't respond, "I'll figure it out myself…" trying several keys before finding the largest key slips into the keyhole opening up the door, stepping into the foyer I take my shoes off annie climbs off of my back to do the same, "wait here for a second please" annie disappears into her home I can barely make out the conversation between annie and someone else, whom I'm assuming to be Moe, annie shortly opens up the door holding Moe in one hand, "come on in" she beckons walking in I immediately see a large fish tank filled with numerous species of fish among them being a large orange, black, and gold koi fish, going past the large fish tank her front room is elegantly decorated with traditional paintings of inkling samurai brandishing their blades as well as inkling princesses posing showing their upper backs, "nice place you got, I like the paintings" I say looking around the room with mild astonishment, "tell me more about it in the morning, in the meantime it's time for bed there's a guest bedroom to the left of the hallway you can sleep there, good night" pointing to the room, "and before I forget the bathroom is right across the hall, see you in the morning" annie walks to her room leaving me in the front room by myself, "…well I guess I'd better head off to sleep as well" making my way to the guest bedroom *end of flashback*

"Oh yeah *yawn* annie let me stay the night" reluctantly getting out of the comfortable bed dressed in nothing but underwear and a sunset graphic tank top I stumble into the bathroom for my slightly altered daily routine. After washing and drying my face a thought swims into my mind while I'm walking back to the guestroom, "do I make breakfast for Annie? I mean I watched plenty of movies and shows were the boyfriend stays over at the girlfriend's place and he makes breakfast for the both of them it may be cliché, but do I do it?" mulling over the risky thought in my head a light thump on the door brings me back,

"You gonna let me in?" says a small voice behind the door, "moe? That you?" I ask, "no it's the milkman, of course it's me let me in I want to talk" opening the door Moe stares me straight in the face, "how are you floating…" "I'm here to ask questions not you" cutting me off moe closes the door, "now we got some things to discuss me and you, man to man, aquatic life to aquatic life, fish to squid. Now what are you doing here?" "Annie invited me over to stay the night" "okay okay next question, why are you still here?" "Why am I still here?" "Do I need to repeat myself?" "I-I mean it would be rude to leave without notice" "agreeable, well what do you plan on doing now that you're awake?" "maybe make some breakfast" "well it's currently 6:13 in the morning, Annie leaves at 7:45 to catch the delivery truck that arrives at 8:00, she likes Belgian waffles and medium roast coffee, lots of milk, and two spoons of sugar" "why are you helping me? This isn't really like you" "I don't really know myself, but everyone deserves the right to be happy" "what are you trying to say?" "Don't worry about it breakfast won't make itself cmon I'll help you" opening the door Moe and I make our way into the kitchen, "don't get used to this okay this is a one-time thing open the fridge for me also put on that apron hanging over there by the cabinets" opening the fridge Moe points out various ingredients for me to prepare breakfast, "now here's what you need to do"

Annie's POV

Waking up I check the clock seeing it to be 6:32 in the morning the familiar weight of moe resting in my tentacles is gone feeling a bit uneasy I hop out bed and walk to the bathroom. Leaving the bathroom I go back to my room to get dressed for the day instead of wearing my normal hoodie I instead swap it for a gray zekko cowl neck hoodie, "it's going to be a bit cold today 76 degrees this hoodie should be fine" after swapping my hoodie I decide on swapping my wardrobe for today changing my normal orange and black leggings I instead choose navy blue leggings and for footwear I wear some squid-stitch plimsolls,

"I think I look fine, casual yet cute I think" once again checking the time it is 7:09 *stomach growls* "almost forgot about breakfast moe's probably in the kitchen again" making my way to the kitchen the smell of breakfast being made catches me off guard, "something smells good, I wonder what it is? That can't moe unless its…" walking into the kitchen I find Coral humming a lively tune while putting up freshly washed dishes on the dish rack, but that's not what catches my attention I see 3 plates stacked with two Belgium waffles topped with a dollop of whipped cream on top and a hot freshly brewed cup of coffee accompanied the waffles,

"You made this…?" making coral jump slightly he turns around, "good morning, how did you sleep?" he asks me a soft smile on his face, "I slept well, but I see you must have slept better to make breakfast of this scale" looking back at coral I notice that he didn't tie up his tentacles like he normally does, it looks nice.

"Not really it's just my way of pay you back for inviting to stay over on such short notice, I mean it's the least I can do" he rubs the back of his head his once soft smile turning into a full toothy grin, "don't be so modest it looks good can I try it?" "Yeah sure I think you'll like it" untying the apron he was wearing he takes his seat opposite of me while I take the first bite of the food he prepared for me. Upon taking the first bite of the waffle it was so good it was like I ascended into food heaven where I was granted powers beyond imagination swallowing the food left me craving for more, to experience it all over again, "its so good…" is all I can muster cutting another piece I can't get enough of it, "how did you learn to make this?" with my mouth full, I know it's bad manners but I really need to know

"well you see my dad would make it for my mom when he came home late or when he sleeps at the office working late, so he used to let me help him in the kitchen when it happened in the midst of that I learned the recipe, you think it's good?" he replies his face contempt remembering a fond memory of his parents, "good isn't the word for it Coral… it's amazing!" being starfish eyed while vigorously nodding, "you think so? My dad always told me that if charms couldn't impress someone then my cooking will, but I couldn't have done this on my own I had a little helper" he jokes beginning to cut his waffles as well, "oh really well I'll have to thank that little helper of yours" starting on my second waffle I take a sip of the coffee, its good as well with a nice mellowness to it.

"Have you seen moe? I haven't seen him since last night" "moe? He should be around here somewhere, he told me something about talking with some friends" "oh he must be in the fish tank then with the other fish I'll go get him before we leave, by the way what time is it anyway?" "Its 7:50 oh don't you have to catch the delivery truck for the new gear at 8:00?" jumping up from the table I begin frantically gathering my things, but it feels like I'm missing something… Oh! my starlet, "hey coral have you seen my starlet?" "Uh what's your starlet?" "You know, the shiny starfish shaped beret I have in my tentacles" "oh that, it's on the couch I saw it this morning" looking on the couch I find the my starlet placing it in its normal spot checking the time it's 7:56, "cmon coral we're going to be late!" grabbing moe out of the fish tank I rush to front door opening it luckily coral isn't too far behind.

Coral's POV

Making our way down Toa Toa Boulevard Annie starts humming a little tune, "what song is that?" I ask, "Oh it's nothing special really, just an old song I know" she replies a little pep in her step while holding my hand, "oh that song annie, I haven't heard that one in a long time" moe points out joining in with her humming, "oh moe I didn't know you felt the same way" "now I'm interested in the song you're singing it sounds traditional, is it?" purely curious it sounds like one of those songs that goes back a long through generations, like a folk song its nearly enchanting, but at the same time completely alien to me, "I will tell you later, for now don't worry about it" the more I listened to her song the more I clung to every note, rise and fall, and the harmony between her and moe where every time annie would rise moe would go lower and when annie went lower moe would rise. Even after she finished the song the melody clear in my head the only thing bringing me back to reality is annie kissing me on the cheek before disappearing into her store, "see you later annie" I mumble before going back to my apartment.


	16. Alice in (not so) Wonderland

Alice in (not so) Wonderland

Walking in the morning there is a lot to take in, the sounds, the atmosphere is calm, and it's a different feel all together for Inkopolis square, "I should take morning walks more often" I tell myself the sound of sliding metal fills my left ear, a shop is opening up for the day, "good morning" I call out getting the attention of the store owner

"Good morning to you as well nice day today isn't it?" he replies, "yeah not too hot and not too cold" "that's good to hear good luck in all of you endeavors" he says before disappearing into his store. Making my way into the ground floor of apartment building I run into jenna, "just my luck" luckily jenna doesn't seem to notice me as she is busy talking with someone else, I'll take this chance to quickly sign in and get to my room, "oh coral hey!" jenna shouts across the room I ignore her and walk into the elevator.

"Maybe ignoring her wasn't the best option, but if it got me to my room faster then it's worth it" opening the door to my room the bare walls welcome me as I take a dive onto my bed, "I need to get some posters, and some new gear, sounds like I need to do some turf wars later today that last game I made it to level 2 freshness just a couple more levels then I will be able to get some new stuff" checking my wallet I see that I have a bit over 2,500 credits leftover from yesterday. Checking the time it's half past 9 am I decide to take a short rest before I go out for some turf wars later…

…

Waking up from a power nap I feel energized hopping out of bed I check the time, it's 10:45, "I'm making good time" changing my clothes wearing a splash mob classic, a baby jelly shirt, some black shorts and krak-on blue slip-ons and some full moon glasses, feeling ready for the day I head out for Inkopolis tower. Getting into the lobby I find myself being placed in a turf war with some low levels like me. After exchanging names and basic introductions we arrive at the current map rotation, Port Mackerel.

Arriving at the port one look at the other team and we can tell that some of them are higher levels based on their weapons, "I see an e-liter, a hydra, berry splattershot, and a carbon roller" I explain trying to come up with a game plan, but options are slim for my team as the only weapons I see are either splattershot jr. or splatter shot, and a krak-on splat roller and a splat charger, "not much we can do here, but if we play to our strengths we can win" "are you sure about this?" "yes Alice I'm sure we do stand a chance at winning all you have to do it watch out for the enemy team and ink any turf that isn't ours, alright team lets go win us a battle!" we all rush off of the spawn point with renewed vigor.

About halfway through the battle it seems that we have the upper hand until the enemy hydra caught Alice in a corner, "…hey Alice where's your brother? Relay this message to him for me will you Alice?" Alice cowers further into the corner tensing up for the incoming blow, not from the weapon he's wielding, but from his fist, I only manage to catch the last of their "conversation" before I step in

"HEY!" sprinting up towards the older inkling I give him a hard shove and let loose enough ink to splat him, "this aint over Alice and you kid you don't know what you're messing with…" he mutters before floating back to his spawn point, "need a hand?" extending my hand Alice shakenly grabs it helping her up, "t-thanks Coral" Alice blushes, "adults shouldn't put their hands on children, especially when they don't deserve it, now who was that?" "I shouldn't say Viktor tells me that shouldn't talk to strangers about my issues" looking towards the ground she makes semi circles with her shoes, "I'm friends with Viktor, dark blue inkling, yells a lot, that's him right?" I ask, "Yes, you must be coral, he's told me about you, the kid that cried in the kelp dome that was you?" I begrudgingly agree which causes her to giggle, "we can talk later for now stay close to me and we can ink together we have a game to win" Alice nods getting back into the game with 30 seconds to spare things aren't looking good for my team we're losing badly, but me and Alice persist as we try our best to even the odds, but I get sniped by an e-liter, the bane of my existence, leaving Alice alone, but luckily the game ends with the enemy team winning I'm not really interested in us losing I'm more concerned in what I saw between Alice and that other guy.

Going back to the lobby I see viktor and alice standing in one of the corners, "oh coral over here" Alice calls me over, "alice you know coral?" "yeah we met today in a turf war before… before… _he_ came" almost as if he knew he was being mentioned this guy walks up to me, viktor, and alice, "ah, if it isn't my loving niece Alice, and my nephew Viktor" hearing him talk makes me uncomfortable viktor shifts alice behind him alice clings to his hand for dear life, "we have nothing to say to you Reyes" viktor growls tears begin fall silently down alice's face something isn't right here, I don't know exactly what but I don't feel right a nervous twinge fires up and down my spine, that pales in comparison to what Viktor and Alice are feeling right now

"I just wanted to talk to my family, isn't that right alice" bending down until he is eye to eye with alice placing a hand on her head, "don't you _fucking_ talk or touch her" viktor viciously spits out the venom in his voice is palpable making Reyes back up,

"now now settle down now no need for such language, your father told me that you enjoy turf wars you two I expect great things from you… the both of you, I'll be seeing you later ok?" taking his leave viktor is still visually upset, "hey… you ok?" placing a hand on his shoulder he tenses, "no I'm not, Alice how are you holding up?" viktor hugs his sister gently she wipes her tears, "…can we go now I don't want to do turf wars now" alice mumbles, "yes we can go, where do you want to go? The further the better" "can we go to Shelly's please" "yes… we can… coral would you like to tag along with us? We could use a friendly face" "sure"

Making our way to Shelly's Alice skips ahead of us while Viktor's face seems stern, "what happened out their coral? Did you see what Reyes did to Alice?" he asks me, "yeah I saw Alice inking some turf when she was cornered by Reyes, I didn't hear everything, but I did hear him saying something about relaying a message to you and he was going to hit her but I managed to splat him before he did anything crazy" upon finishing viktor face becomes red with anger, "I should have been there… I should have FUCKING been there" he growls, "Vik… it's not your fault…" I try to calm him but it does no good, "if only I was there I would have fucking killed him" "viktor it's ok I was there to stop him Alice is ok, I may not know what's going on, but being angry at him isn't going to do any good for Alice you must think of her first" after reasoning with him he calms down a bit, still angry but he calmed down enough for Alice not to know speaking of Alice, "Viktor we're here come on!" Alice begins pulling on Viktor's arm dragging him into the café.

Taking our seats Alice starts swinging her legs under the table, "nothing like good company and greater food to lighten the mood" changing the subject, "do you go to school Alice?" she perks up, "yes! I go to Splacademic Academy" "oh, that's a nice school what grade are you in?" "I'm in the 6th grade" "do you go to school Viktor?" "Yeah I go to the same school, but I'm in the high school portion, I'm currently a senior" he replies before calling a waiter over

"What do want to eat Alice?" "umm… can I have some krabby cakes please?" "sure, I'll take two orders of Krabby cakes, and coral?" "I'll just take some coffee and two donuts thanks" "ugh, coffee what are you an adult?" "now Alice be nice, but now that she mentioned it how old are you coral?" suddenly bringing up my age makes me a little uncomfortable, "me well I'm 19 years old I graduated from a high school in New Inkopolis called Inkcell Academy" that shocks Viktor and Alice, "you're 19! That means you're older than me! And I'm 18, you seem so much younger than me" "looks can be deceiving young one" I say the waiter arriving at our table with the food.

After receiving our food Alice keeps staring at me, but every I look back she quickly looks away and blushes, "thank you for saving me, it was really nice" she blurts out, it makes my heart melt she's adorable makes me wish I had some siblings, "oh no problem you don't deserve to be treated like that you're such a sweet girl it's a shame someone wants to destroy that" upon hearing that Alice gives me one of the biggest smiles she could muster.

"Be careful Coral or you may end of falling for Alice instead of Cyan" he jokes making me raise my eye brows, "me and Cyan aren't a thing you know? I thought I told you that before at the kelp dome" "I mean yeah but I've seen the way she looks at you man she's head over heels for you dude" "maybe, but I'm not interested in her like that" "and why's that a beauty like that doesn't come every day you know, you have to bag that before some other squid does" "I mean I already have a girlfriend already" "oh who's that I want to know" "Annie" "she must be an inkling with real splatitude for you, I know you aren't the most talkative squid, but how did you manage that one?" "no she's not an inkling" "then the only other Annie I know is… no… don't tell me" "yeah" "you're lying…" "I swear to blooper I'm telling the truth" "how?!" "I guess we clicked and everything went from there" "dude that's freaking stellar man oh that's a real catch dude I'm impressed" viktor throws his hands up in disbelief knocking over his plate, "viktor you have to be careful!" exclaims Alice pulling on his arm

"But oh my gosh when are you going to tell Cyan? I mean she gonna be wrecked but you're gonna tell her right?" "well me and cyan had a bit of a falling out the other day so I guess I can tell her the next time I see her" folding his arms Viktor seems to be thinking of something, "I know this maybe sudden given the situation and all, but after you tell cyan about Annie, can you be my wingman?" viktor lightly blushes, a little uncomfortable with his request, "sure why not I know what she likes so I can help you" "oh you're a life saver cmon let's get out of here, hey Alice you ready to go?" finishing up her krabby cakes she nods. We pay for the food bill making our way back to Inkopolis square, "so what are you going to do now?" "uh I hope its not too soon given the situation, but I wanted to do some more turf wars and get my levels up" viktor knits his brow for a bit before sighing, "yeah that seems like a good idea for you seeing how 'fresh' you are heh heh" viktor jokes, "cmon Alice lets go to home see you later Coral" "Goodbye Coral!" taking their leave I make my way back inside Inkopolis Tower


	17. Getting Baited

Getting Baited

"So what are you going to do now Coral?" viktor asks me, "I hope it's not too soon but I would like to some more turf wars and get my levels up you know what I mean" I reply, "well good luck, its mean out there, only the strongest survive, come on Alice lets go home" "ok, Bye Coral, thanks for saving me" Alice hugs me, she's adorable, "no problem Alice, anytime" Viktor and Alice take their leave I stand in front of Inkopolis Tower steeling my resolve

"This is where it all begins" I tell myself walking inside prepared to take on multiple turf battles back to back, "I'm going to need a new weapon eventually I am going to have to return this splattershot jr. to cyan" walking towards the elevator for my first match: Camp Triggerfish

…

"So is this camp like an actual summer camp?" I ask one of my teammates, "uh yeah in the summer this place isn't available on the map rotation because it's actually a camp for young squids called Sunfish Scouts, I used to be one of them, good times" he replies as the whistle begins to blow we being inking the ground in front of us. In the middle of the stage I swim past some barricades until suddenly a glob of ink explodes next to me tossing me in the open where I meet the attacker head on, "damn dude that should have one shot you, I gotta get the hang of that sweet spot" taking his momentary hesitation I throw a splat bomb at him and let loose a couple of shots splatting him, "I have to be more careful" moving forward I find myself on the enemy side of the map I manage to cover enough ink to get my special, "let's see the bubbler in action" getting a little confident I push further and further into enemy territory,

And everything was going well until another explosion rocked my side this time nearly launching me off the stage into the water in reflex I activate my bubbler in an attempt to splat my attacker, but I can't find him, "It's that guy with the blaster again" creating an escape route my bubbler runs out "just my luck" I almost make it to safety when I get blasted in the back that knocks me forward I explode before I hit the ground,

"Gotcha this time" says my opponent while… rapidly switching between squid and kid forms and jumping up and down, did he just? Oh no he did not just sea bag me! "What the hell was that?!" "He Sea bagged you, it's a form of disrespect, bro you got to kill his ass" replies my splat charger teammate "I know that! I just can't fucking believe it!" fueled by anger I swim back out there looking for any trace of the blaster guy that splatted me "1 MINUTE REMAINING, THE GATES ARE LOWERED!" shouts the announcer the music kicks up to a fever pitch in the distance I see him inking some turf near my spawn point, "found you bitch" closing in on his position I come across a kelp splatterscope using her killer wail she's a little outside of my range so I ignore her for now. I finally manage to catch up to the blaster, "come back for more kid?" he taunts brandishing his weapon

"You caught me on some bullshit and you know it" throwing a splat behind him I begin shooting at him trying to drive him back into the bomb, "I don't think so scrub" he throws a beaker filled with ink towards me, it didn't do any damage but I feel like my body just became heavier, "what the fuck is this" my footsteps feel like they weigh 50 pounds which adds to my frustration, "it's a disruptor get fucked" he splats me as the whistle blows.

"ORANGE TEAM WINS" meows Judd apparently we lost track of a carbon roller who was able to ink my team's side of the map, "damn it this was my fault if only I didn't get mad and tunnel vision" still upset about the last match I decide to change up the weapon I was using

"Well instead of using the jr. I want to use the splattershot I hope I can do better than last match" after exchanging weapons the map rotations change for regular battles to Mahi Mahi Resort and Flounder Heights, "dang, I missed the last rotation" turning around I see cyan looking up at the jumbo screen near the elevator

"Doing some turf wars today?" catching her attention she tenses up for a bit, I may have startled her, "oh… Coral… hey how are you today…?" cyan awkwardly shifts, placing my splattershot down on a nearby counter we have a good 2 minutes before the next match starts, "you ok you jumped a little when I spoke to you, everything ok?" I ask, "oh yeah I'm fine you just scared me that's all, but more importantly I would like to apologize for the way I acted yesterday I shouldn't have grilled you like especially when you were uncomfortable like that" "it isn't completely your fault I wasn't being completely truthful myself" cyan looks up from the ground in surprise,

"W-what do you mean by you weren't being truthful with me? Are you seeing someone?!" cyan asks eagerly, "yes I am, but I need to know why you were so upset with me when I didn't answer Jenna's question about my love life" "well… I… I liked you And I hoped upon hoped that you were single so that I could have you for myself, but when you didn't answer the question I knew that maybe you were seeing someone and I got angry not at you, but angry at myself for getting my hopes up to be shot down and I lashed out at you" with trembling hands cyan grips her e-liter tightly almost on the verge of tears,

"I'm sorry that you went through that, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner having unrequited love sucks… if only I told you sooner you wouldn't have been so torn up inside, I just have such a hard time communicating sometimes I'm sorry, but I am seeing someone" "who is it?" "it's Annie, from Cooler Heads, I stumbled into her store my first day hear and since then we've kept in touch" "when did you guys start dating" "after the octolings incident happened" "well ok that's pretty long ago" "yeah" "…so what now…?" "What do you mean?" "I mean things must be a little awkward now" "I mean yeah they are, but I was your friend before I began liking you so it's not like I'm going to leave plus aren't we squad mates" "that's true, sorry I doubted you" "come on don't we have a turf war to go to?" grabbing my splattershot cyan pulls me into the elevator before it closes


	18. Letting go of Conflicting Feelings

Letting go conflicting feelings

Cyan pulls me into the elevator before it closes, "do you know where we are going?" I ask "uh I think we may be going to Mahi" "ok, this will be the first time I have been there since I was a kid" "you've been there before" "yeah me and my parents went there for summer vacation when I graduated from kindergarten, I wonder if it is still how I remember it" making our way up the elevator the smell of pool water draws my attention the memories of playing in the water while my parents relaxed on the poolside fills my mind.

"Coral were almost there" says Cyan sunlight filtering through the grates in the elevator, "I have a good feeling about this match" says Jayce, one of our teammates, "you think so?" I reply, "Yeah if only I had this feeling about ranked matches" "aint that right, I can see the arena we're here guys" opening the doors to the resort seagulls can be heard above us as the gentle crash of the waves fill the air.

"this place is just as nice as I remember" I whisper the buzzer sounds soon after.

Sprinting off the platform I ink my way down the long stretch along the resort as cyan makes her way across various sized platforms before stopping on a remote one near the corner she gives me a thumbs up signaling she's in position.

Making my way towards center stage I return the gesture, before making it to the center the sun rises to its highest point in the distance I see shining off of a scope of splatterscope doubling back I slip on enemy team ink falling face first the enemy sniper's gun seems to be moving up and down almost like their… suddenly realizing what was happening my face gets hot with embarrassment

Cyan's POV

The buzzer sounds off I already know where I want to go making my way towards the platforms I notice that there is a splatterscope in my spot, "I got you in my sights" I whisper taking aim at her head they notice too late the force of the ink knocks them off the platform splatting her mid-air, "that's my spot you were in, get your own" reaching the spot I see coral inking one of the corners I give him a thumbs up letting him know I got his back he returns the gesture making his way towards the center where most of the action is going down

"Coral look out there's an Octobrush behind you!" I try to shout but he doesn't hear me he's cornered, "he's a dead man" he suddenly turns around sharply only to slip on enemy ink part of me wants to laugh at him for what he put me through, but the other part of me wants to help him out anyway I can, "ok, ok that's enough laughing out of you" taking my aim at the octobrush behind coral I splat him first allowing coral to finally stand up and get away, "as mad as I am about he not returning my feelings he doesn't deserve that humiliating splat" lowering my sniper tears land on the ink tank of my e-liter,

"Better I let this go now before I get myself hurt" knowing it's not going to be an instant transition but it's a start, "enough tears cyan you can't let people know you've been crying" wiping my tears I pick my e-liter with renewed vigor with 2 minutes to spare I need to move and fast. Taking a second to see where the enemy team is I make a risky decision to go on the enemy side of the field in order to make a comeback.

"Coral and Jayce follow me" I command breaking rank from a firefight they were losing, "yeah what's the plan captain?" "We need to make a comeback if we want to win this game, so we're going to need to divide and conquer you know what I mean?" "Yeah where do you want us to go cyan?" coral asks me "coral once the water levels drop in the final minute I need you to ink all the turf you can, Jayce when those water levels drop I need you to make your way over to the enemy side and ink as much as you can and I'll distract them and provide cover fire for the both of you now let's go win us a turf war!"


	19. Curtain Call

Curtain Call

"coral once the water levels drop in the final minute I need you to ink all the turf you can, Jayce when those water levels drop I need you to make your way over to the enemy side and ink as much as you can and I'll distract them and provide cover fire for the both of you now let's go win us a turf war!" Coral and Jayce give a swift nod before taking off in different directions

"now we should be winning if all goes well, but no plan is perfect" charging up another shot from my e-liter a displacing shot fires from across the map, "damn sniper" leaping over the trial of purple ink and spinning to dodge the second shot I manage to free myself from being cornered by the sniper

"Just like Madeline would do" looking at the clock and seeing that I only have a minute and 30 seconds "damn I need to get in position, coral seems to be fine and jayce is doing just as good" picking up the pace putting myself on the enemy side of the resort giving me the optimal position for what I am going to be doing,

ONE MINIUTE REMAINING!

"IT'S SHOW TIME" I shout as the water levels begin to drop revealing new places to be inked coral takes the left side and Jayce takes the right, "in the final moments it's time for me to elevate this stage…" I whisper time seems to slow down inklings slowed to a crawling pace what is this new feeling? Watching Coral he is slowly flanked by two enemies, a carbon roller and an octobrush, charging up a shot I aim at the aiming for the carbon roller splatting him and using the explosion in conjunction with my ink he's now stepping in he too gets splatted switching over to Jayce he's already made it to his destination and having complete control over it

30 SECONDS REMAINING

Joining the fray I make my way towards center stage cleaning up any stray ink soon inklings begin to speed up my battle trance wearing off were everything was once silent now all I hear is frantic noise of both teams trying to fill as much of the map as possible I just stand there completely spent dropping my e-liter a glazed expression upon my face as the bell buzzes,

The meter ticks on the Jumbo-Tron tallying in the points from both teams before a brief moment of silence… "GREEN TEAM WINS!" exclaims Judd holding out a green flag for my team, "cyan we did it! We won! Thanks to your plan we were able to win" coral runs up to me hugging me and lifting me off of the ground being completely exhausted I don't really react before I faint

…

The sound of beeps and shuffling feet awaken me from a dreamless slumber one of the first things I've noticed is that I wasn't on Mahi Mahi Resort instead I was greeted with white walls and masked figures standing over me clutching clipboards, they were speaking very softly or were they speaking loudly? I was barely able to make out what they were talking about,

"…Her vitals how are they nurse?" "her vitals are rising she must be regaining consciousness doctor" "good, it shouldn't be too long before she fully wakes up. Give her friends the good news and tell them they can come in and see her now" suddenly realizing where I was I try to sit up, but the most I was able to muster was to raise my head as Viktor, Coral, and this little girl comes in they all look concerned,

"Cyan… are you ok?" asks Viktor, "yeah I think so what happened?" "well after we won the game you sort of fainted Judd called the ambulance then I called up Viktor and he came then the doctors called your parents" taking everything coral said into account I close my eyes and give a hefty deep sigh but before I can utter another word a voice can be heard down the hall

"WHERE'S MY BABY" "collette darling there are other patients here that need their rest" "I DON'T CARE HAROLD MY BABY'S BEEN HURT!" storming into the room I see my mom and my dad not too far behind "cyan are you hurt? What happened? Your father and I were so worried when the hospital called and said that you passed out after a turf war" my mother continues asking a multitude of questions making my head spin until coral finally stops her,

"Excuse me miss, but I think Cyan maybe overwhelmed with all of the questions you're asking she just woke up a few minutes ago" "oh cyan darling I am sorry for being so careless, but who might you be?" my mother asks Coral "Well my name is Coral and I am a friend of Cyan" "And I am Viktor and this is my younger sister Alice nice to meet you ma'am" after brief introductions the doctor comes back into the room

"so the results from your blood work came in your daughter seemed to have passed out from over exerting herself as shown in the lack of oxygen in her bloodstream, but don't worry she'll be fine with a couple days bed rest to regain her strength. That means you are free to go Ms. Coquilles" "Coquilles, as in THE Luxueux Coquilles, The Madam of Film? As in the famous actress in her heyday?!"


	20. Expectations

Expectations

"so the results from your blood work came in your daughter seemed to have passed out from over exerting herself as shown in the lack of oxygen in her bloodstream, but don't worry she'll be fine with a couple days bed rest to regain her strength. That means you are free to go Ms. Coquilles" "Coquilles, as in THE Luxueux Coquilles, The Madam of Film? As in the famous actress in her heyday?!"

That was 2 weeks ago and since then me and Viktor haven't really heard much from Cyan, one of the last times we've seen her was at the airport she was leaving with her parents to their homeland.

Waking up in my room the smell of cologne is all over my pillow and quilt, "mmhm…" my phone vibrates softly dragging my tired frame over to my nightstand I pick it up

"*yawn* hello…?" "Oh hey mom good morning" "Yes I am doing fine in Inkopolis I got a place and yes I am eating well is dad there?" "Oh he went to work? Well tell him I say what's up" "how's school been?" "Are the kids treating you right?" "Yeah… I'm sorry for not calling you after I moved in things have gotten a little hectic on my end to say the least" "Yes I am fine I'm not hurt or anything" "ok I'll talk to you later mom I love you bye"

Hanging up the phone with my mom my phone vibrates once more looking at the screen I have received a text from Annie,

Annie: Last night was amazing

Coral: well I am glad you liked the restaurant I picked out

Annie: yeah I really liked it… but we should do something special for your birthday

Coral: for my birthday?! What about yours?

Annie well mines isn't for a couple of months so don't worry

Coral: when is it so I know to plan something extravagant?

Annie: I don't need all that, but it is August 3rd

Coral ok I got it a special day for a special girl

Annie: aww you're too sweet, customers are so we'll talk later

Putting the phone down and getting out of bed I head out towards the shower to clean off the remaining cologne on my skin, "since Cyan left for France it's been only me and Viktor practicing for turf wars Alice shows some promise with rollers maybe I'll ask Viktor what he thinks" stepping into the shower I being cleaning myself. 15 minutes into the shower a knock at the door is barely audible but distinct enough to be heard over the running water

"Coming! Just give me a minute!" I shout ceasing the knocking wrapping a towel around my waist I notice that my stomach that used to protrude a little bit is now gone paving the way for abs to be visible , "guess all that running made me lose some weight" reaching the door I open it to find Alice in front of my door

Alice's POV

Knocking on Coral's door makes me nervous my stomach fills with butterflies, "why am I so nervous?" I ask myself, "Coming! Just give me a minute!" I overhear I stop knocking the blush on my face reaching a fever pitch suddenly I hear footsteps nearing the door as it opens,

"Alice what are you doing here…" a glorious light filters through the open door as Coral dramatically flips his wet tentacles out of the way he gives me bedroom eyes saying my name at such a tone brings all the blood to my face but before I can die of euphoric happiness he gives me a faint inducing wink,

"I… I… came to… ahhh" fainting before I can finish my sentence coral catches me before I hit the ground and carries me into his room, "this… is…. Heaven…" my final thoughts before walking towards the gates of the great sea

What actually happened

Reaching the door I open it to find Alice standing in front of me, "Alice what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school or something?" before she can respond some water drips from eyebrows and into my eye, "ahhh!" closing my right now soapy eye, flipping my tentacles out of the way before they could leak any more water on the floor

"Does viktor know you're here?" I ask her but she only stumbles over her own words and before she can say a coherent sentence she faints, "oh no…" catching her before she hits the ground she mumbles something but I can't really make out what it is she said I take her into my room and place her on my bed and call Viktor,

"So Vik did you know that Alice is currently in my room?" "Why would she be there?!" "I was asking myself the same thing when she knocked on my door isn't she supposed to be in school or something?" "Yeah she is, hold on I'll be there soon" "yeah this isn't the pristine morning I thought I was going to have" "Yeah, I bet" hanging up the phone I finish drying up in the bathroom occasionally checking on Alice who is still passed out on my bed. Getting dressed in my retro gaming jacket, full moon glasses, and a pair of red high horses Alice finally shows signs of life

"Have a good sleep princess?" I joke with her "um… I came to ask you a question…" she quietly responds I grab a bar of chocolate from the shelf and hand it to her, "uh sure what did you want to talk to me about?" she unwraps the chocolate bar, "well I watched you, Viktor and sometimes Cyan practice sometimes and I've noticed that you don't have a fourth member and I was wondering if… kind of…" before she can finish her sentence Viktor comes into the room,

"Alice Patricia Campbell shouldn't you be in school?!" viktor exclaims "yeah, but this is important I was going to talk to you about it, but I wanted Coral's opinion first" jumping off of my bed she places the uneaten chocolate on my computer table, "what did you want to talk about with him? What was it so important that you have to talk to coral first instead of talking to me first?!" "I WANTED TO JOIN YOUR SQUAD OK! I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE IT WOULD BE COOL FOR ME TO HANG OUT WITH YOU GUYS AND HELP OUT INSTEAD OF BEING ON THE SIDELINES I WANTED TO ASK CORAL FIRST BECAUSE I KNOW I AM YOUNG, BUT I WANTED TO ASK ANYWAY!"


	21. Rolling on the Good news

Rolling on the good news!

"Why do you want to join our squad? I thought you and those other kids were going to begin ranked turf wars together next year after you guys felt more prepared?" Viktor asks softly, "well those guys didn't feel like they were ready to fully commit to being a true squad as some of them didn't even have weapons of their own yet" Alice says recalling the memory of the conversation she had with her friends

Alice POV 2 weeks ago

It was lunch time currently at Splacademic Academy the 6th graders are currently inside of the cafeteria enjoying their lunch or they're on the football field enjoying their meals. We find our little Alice sitting inside of the café with some of her friends a conversation seems to brewing causing the young faces of these children scrunched up in thought…

"Jake I'm telling you we should go for ranked I think we can do it!" says Terry shifting his glasses while checking his InkPhone, "Dude I don't even have a weapon of my own, I've been borrowing my parents stuff only that because my grades are good" Jake replies taking a bite of his sandwich, "well why don't we pool our allowances together and by weapons then?" explains Bianca shifting her purple tentacles covering her left eye, "sounds like a plan we don't even have to get the expensive ones, all we need to get are the cheap guns then we can play until we can afford the better ones" reaching into my wallet only to see about 2500 credits

"that's easy for you to say Alice your brother is high leveled and he does really good in battles so he gets paid a lot my sister is high leveled but she doesn't share her money with me" Terry says holding up his empty wallet "I can ask my parents for the cash I think" Bianca states, "well I have a weapon already!" Jake exclaims "you do?!" we all exclaim "course I do! It's my Hydra Splatling, I can't really use it cuz I'm not strong enough to hold it properly" a sweat drop droops down Jake's head the remainder of us sigh in unison

"so that makes one of us who actually has a weapon, right Alice?" terry asks me to which I nod, "yeah I have my Krak-on my brother gave me, wait how about this: I ask my brother to lend us weapons? Then when we make enough to buy weapons of our own then we can give them back how about that?" my questions seems to fall on deaf ears as my friends seem like they aren't really on board with the idea

"the plan sounds good on paper, but I don't really know if I can really go through with it you know, midterms are coming up and soon it'll be summer and that's when all the really good squids play I don't know it just seems unlikely" Terry says rubbing his arms the others seem to agree with him,

"Sounds to me like you guys are chicken, so what if a few-" "a lot of good players compete in the summer" "-okay so what if a lot of good players compete in the summer we can't let that stop us from being the best, actually it would be better because if we do beat them and rise to the top it'll show that they have been beaten by 6th graders!" once again my attempt at motivation falls on deaf ears "really you guys weren't really serious about becoming one of the best squads on earth?" they shake their heads no "well then I guess I can find some other people who would want to be" the bell rings signaling that lunch is over

Alice POV current time

"Since my friends didn't really want to do turf wars I've been wanting to find some people who really wanted to, but I couldn't really find them or they were already a group so I wanted to ask Coral if I can join you guys" finishing her tale "I can see why she would have asked me for my opinion her friends made a plan, but they didn't follow through, but you could have talked to Viktor first then me" "Alice you know you can tell me anything it's not like we don't live together or anything" Alice agree but she looks a little sad

"hmmm I don't know after all of that I only have one question for you" catching her attention Alice's eyes light up "yeah what is it?"

"How good have you gotten with that roller of yours?" I ask her she almost jumped through the roof out of excitement, "I think you would be a great edition to the squad, but that decision isn't up to me" Alice looks at viktor with starry, anticipating eyes,

"Well.. I don't really know… but I guess if it'll keep you out of trouble you little squirt… come here!" grabbing and rubbing her head Alice bursts into a fit of laughter "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I've gotten so much better with my roller Coral I've practiced so much since that battle we had a couple of weeks ago" jumping from viktor she runs into me hugging me and jumping up and down frantically

"hey now don't get excited yet you still have to show us the progress you've made Alice, but until then consider yourself a junior member, a week from now you will have to face me, viktor, and maybe even Cyan if she's back in a one on one if you beat both of us or if you beat two out of the three of us then you'll be in, if not we'll let you try again another week from now and so forth until you beat us" "ok so a week from now we'll fight?" "Yes" "I need to prepare see you later Coral I won't let you down! Come on Viktor!"


	22. Update for the future

Update

Hey Guys AutumnSage here… I know that I haven't updated in a long while because as you may or may not have known I did move across my hometown so things were crazy and on top of that I'm going to a new school and my culinary courses are killing me (But I love them though so I'll endure!) I do plan on getting back to my regular updating schedule so please bear with me for these two weeks as I am trying to get back into the swing of things but please remember...

 **DON'T GET COOKED STAY OFF THE HOOK**


	23. Memories

Memories

Making our way out of Coral's apartment Alice has some pep in her step she can be heard humming Callie's famous 'Bomb Rush Blush' "I am so excited in one week I will have to go against you guys! You better not go easy on me!" Alice points her tiny fingers at me "I wouldn't have it any other way I wouldn't want my baby sister to be some weakling now come on let's go home"

Making our way back to my apartment Alice runs straight into her room, "I'll get started on lunch since you ditched school today!" I announce from the doorway "I wonder if I got any mail…" walking back to check the mailbox nothing really stood out to me wandering into the small kitchen a red letter among the white letters catches my eye "what's this?" placing all the other letters down and taking a seat I open up the red letter

"Dear Mr. Campbell… We've reviewed your case… you are being summoned to court… by order of judge Highwater… for the trial of Turner vs. Campbell…" placing the letter down on the kitchen table my mind rushes into a blind haze bitter tears streaming down my face bringing back awful memories of terrified shrieks and the blood… there was so much blood and the smell of… rushing for the sink I begin vomiting. Vomiting to rid myself of the terrible memories, vomiting because of the sick feeling I get whenever I think about that day and how it started off so well, but it ended so terribly and how I wasn't able to stop what happened I run the sink to wash the vomit down the drain

"Viktor…?" a small voice beckons me from the abyss I was slipping back into "are… you ok? I heard you throwing up and I came in here" rubbing the upper portion of her left arm raising from the sink I look at Alice and all I can see is what happened that day and the blaring sirens of the ambulance, the lights of the E.R, and those long sleepless nights

"Yeah… I'm fine Alice… Everything is fine don't worry I-I just felt a little sick is all, I haven't really been eating right too much greasy junk food like you've been telling me" I lie but Alice appears to believe it "see? I've told you that you have to eat better Viktor! Don't worry about lunch I can find something in the fridge, oh and shouldn't you get ready for work?"

Struggling to get back on my feet after throwing up I take the stack of letters with me and place them in my room after that I walk to the bathroom to wash out the taste of bile from my mouth, "eventually I am going to have to tell Alice of the impending trial meeting, I know she's not going to be happy especially since she's going to be on the stand recounting what she went through… I think I'll break the news to her after her tryouts so that I can break the news to her without it affecting her too much" finishing that thought that weak feeling along with those memories are starting to slowly fade away feeling a bit stronger I decide that should be the best way to prepare Alice for the upcoming trial, which isn't for another couple of months

"Hey Alice how about you and me go to Inkopolis tower? I have something I would like to show you" I open the bathroom door to find Alice standing in front of the door ready to go, "why didn't you say so sooner? I'm ready to go how about you?" "Give me 20 mins I'm suddenly hungry and I have to clean the sink as well"

…

Making our way towards Inkopolis Tower Alice is finishing her burger I made for her before we left,

"yeah so what I was saying wa- you got some mustard on your face" "*muffled* where?" some crumbs fall out of Alice's mouth as she wipes off her face with the back of her hand, "Better?" "Better. So what I was going to say was that since you've got tryouts next week I want to get in some last minute training so that you'll learn some tips and tricks about the roller" "well what more can I possibly learn? I've already binge watched the great S+ rollers play and I know their strategies to a tee I can handle myself" "well for one you're smaller than they are which means that you'll have to work harder to fully control the weight of the roller which means that you'll have to play more tactful if you are going to overwhelm your opponent"

Alice mulls over the information I gave her before she pulls out her Krak-on splat roller and inspects it, "well I guess you're right about that… so what would be the best way to fix that since I'm not as big as the other guys?" she questions me, "well for one you are faster than the others so you got that going for you and since your smaller you are harder to hit as it is easier to hit an opponent that is bigger or that has the higher ground" answering her question Alice seems to absorb all the information I have given her like a sea sponge, "well I think I am ready to practice some of the things you told me" replies Alice with fire in her eyes

"Well we're here now so let's get kraken" I joke but it falls on deaf ears, "ugh needs work now I really can't wait to demolish you for making that terrible pun" she says as we step into the elevator


	24. First Day of Training

First Day of Training

Making our way up towards the training grounds for today Arowana Mall, it should be fairly easy for her given that the stage is on the more linear side so I can work on her speed and her stealth "ok once we arrive at Arowana Mall we're gonna start on opposite sides and for today we're gonna work on your speed and stealth as they are important for rollers until then show me what you can do now ok?" after explaining the training agenda for today she gives me a swift nod before being teleported to the other side of the map.

The training robot fires its starting pistol I dash off towards center stage taking out my very own vanilla splat roller I begin to make my way towards center stage going along the side routes when Alice's spotty path of ink nearly caught me off guard "perhaps she's faster than I thought gotta keep my eyes open" I begin to traverse around the stage carefully searching for any sign of Alice anywhere "where did you disappear to little one…" I barely managed to say before the sound of metal scraping against concrete fills my left ear I quickly jump to the left fast enough to see Alice's surprised face pass over me before she lands on her side "how'd you do that?!" she asks while rubbing her hip a slight pained expression written on her face

"Well it was fairly easy to dodge seeing how I knew where you were coming from as your roller was scrapping against the ground so I dodged in the direction of where you came from and you passed over me" after explaining the situation to her she begins to think for a moment "so if my weapon didn't drag on the ground as I jumped I would have caught you then?" "Yeah you definitely would have caught me as I was caught off guard by several ink trails leading in different directions so I was looking at the trails that were further away instead of looking at the ones closest to me so good job, but a bit of criticism is that you have to hold the roller higher since your shorter than most people it'll be hard at first but in time you'll get stronger and it'll get easier lets go again" with a wave of my hand I super jump back to my spawn point and Alice goes to hers soon the stage is clear of ink once again the training bot fires off its starter pistol reviewing all that happened last time I take a different route towards center stage this time Alice hasn't made her marks yet so I decide to play on the offensive this time pushing over to her side I manage to roughly cover half of her side before a glob of pink ink splatters at my feet

Looking up to see where the ink came from I was greeted with another bombardment of ink headed straight for me instinctively diving to my right I come face to face with Alice's sly grin before a wave of pink ink covers me head to toe splatting me "good job now let's go again, but faster this time a sneaky roller is not only powerful they are extremely efficient in dispatching threats"

We continue this exercise well into the evening until I felt that Alice has properly began exhibiting some form of progress battered and sweaty I call practice for today "that's enough for today Alice lets go get something to eat" I shout to her "OK! I'm starving!" she calls out from where ever she was hiding at.

Making our way down the elevator towards the 1st floor we begin reviewing all that we have done today "ok one thing I want to work on outside of training is your strength as that seems to be your weakest link so starting tomorrow where going to be doing strength training alongside your normal regimen is that clear?" laying out the training plan to Alice who gives a hesitant nod as Alice isn't the best when it comes to exercise, but it has to be done if she wants to be the best then I will be her coach and her cheerleader. "So what are we gonna eat Viktor I'm hungry" Alice asks me while rubbing her growling stomach "um how about take-out or pizza, or if you're feeling spicy we can get some Middle Eastern food your pick what do ya say?" laying out the options to Alice she has one of the most concentrated expressions on her face, "uh… how about a final farewell pizza because if I am going to be training I might as well change my diet to speed the process along" placing a gentle hand on her head I ask her in confirmation "I know how much you like your pizza and junk food you sure about this?" giving me a final nod of her head I can see the fire in her eyes telling me that she is serious "ok then we're going all out then! Meat lovers' supreme pizza? How about that?" as I finish the sentence I barely get a visage of Alice's tiny outline before realizing that she is already down the street heading for the pizzeria "h-hey wait for me! I am the one that is paying ya know!"


End file.
